


Addiction

by Vengfulfate



Category: RWBY
Genre: Blackmail, Drama, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Dust as a Drug, F/F, Fictional Drug, Substance Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-07 01:35:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 37,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18863068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vengfulfate/pseuds/Vengfulfate
Summary: Dust. An alternative energy. A modern miracle. And in the wrong hands, something much darker... This dark side of Dust is something 21 year old college freshman Ruby Rose knows too well. But as she stands at the gates of Beacon Academy, she is ready for a fresh start. She is ready to put her past behind her... but is her past done with her?Originally posted on Fanficiton.net on May 28, 2016





	1. Welcome to Beacon, A New Start

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of several works I plan to migrate here from my fanfiction.net account. The story is finished, but I will be uploading a single chapter a day to maintain some semblance of serialization, though if you can't wait the entire work is available on https://www.fanfiction.net/~vengfulfate

Ruby Rose stood at the gates of the prestigious Beacon Academy. The first twenty one years of her life weren't exactly filled with the happiest memories or the greatest choices, but she was ready for a fresh start. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, feeling the sun and the energy of the college environment wash over her. Her smile faltered when she felt the world shift beneath her.

_Oh crap…_

The world wasn't shifting, she realized.  _She_  was. Ruby had leaned a little  _too_  far, aided by the weight of her duffel bag, and now it was too late to stumble onto her feet.  _This is gunna hurt…_  To her surprise, she didn't fall directly onto the concrete walkway. No, Ruby managed to take someone down with her in her clumsy spill, just to her luck. And, just to her luck, she managed to tick off the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Ruby was stuck sitting on the ground as she admired the girl, who was already on her feet.

Even ruffled from the fall, her bright white hair shined brilliantly in the sunlight, and her white and blue clothing helped paint the image of an angel in Ruby's head. Her icy blue eyes seemed to sparkle and the clumsy girl would have even wagered the beauty's features were soft and angelic. When they weren't twisted into anger like they were now, accompanied by harsh words Ruby barely registered.

"-Are you even listening to me!? Are you dense  _and_  clumsy!? What do you have to say for yourself!?"

"Who are you…?" Ruby couldn't keep the wonderment from her voice. The beauty looked over the clumsy girl in amazement. She had dark red hair, black jeans with a hole in one knee, black 'skate' shoes, and an unknown top under a worn red hoodie (which she wore despite the heat) with only the left sleeve rolled up.  _How did she even get into Beacon? She must have impressed someone… somehow…_

"She's Weiss Schnee." A dark dressed girl with equally dark hair spoke over her book from a nearby bench where she sat. Ruby recognized her as her sister's friend, Blake. "Daughter of the patriarch of one the most powerful and influential companies on Earth, the Schnee Mining Company."

The beauty, Weiss, smiled. "That's right."

Ruby frowned.  _Crap, she's rich? There goes any chance I had… she's probably wondering how I even got into Beacon…_

"The same company that's fighting the Dust Regulations Act just to keep a few dollars in its pocket, despite the rising number of Dust abusers." Blake continued, injecting a subtle venom in her voice.

"My father has genuine reasons to oppose that bill! It's not our responsibility to keep people from poisoning themselves with Dust's less reputable properties!" Weiss shot back defensively.

"It _is_  your responsibility when  _your_  system has so many holes for the dealers to smuggle unrefined Dust out of!" Blake pressed on.

Weiss was red in the face and at a loss for words. With a  _hmmph!_  she turned on her heel and stomped away.

Ruby watched the angry angel recede into the distance, unable to look away even as she worked on getting to her feet. A blonde figure sidled up next to the redhead, watching her watch Weiss. "Total lady boner." The blonde tactlessly teased.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled her face flushing.  _Sigh_  "Whatever. Not like that's ever gunna happen, especially after I knocked her over…"

"Ah, well." Yang brushed off, laying an arm over Ruby's shoulder. "Can't win them all, little sister. Need help finding your dorm?"

"Nah, I think I'll be okay." Ruby answered. Yang nodded and took off with Blake.

Blake and Yang had been friends since almost the moment they met, when they shared a dorm here last year. Blake was over almost the entire summer and the two recently learned they'll be dorm mates once more, much to their enjoyment. They had already spent a whole year defining and compromising on dorm rules between themselves, and they had not looked forward to repeating that process with total strangers.

Ruby decided she wouldn't immediately head to her dorm. She wanted to walk around, try and meet new people. She encountered a few interesting characters on her mission. A boy named Jaune was vomiting in the bushes, a little overwhelmed by the public transportation he took here. There was a duo of one boy, Lie Ren, who looked like he needed coffee and a girl named Nora who looked like she had way too much. Ruby also encountered Penny, a girl she would have sworn was a robot if she didn't know better.

Eventually the redhead decided it was time to look for her dorm. The problem she quickly ran into was that she indeed needed help finding her way around the massive campus. "Yup, totally lost…"

* * *

 

Weiss Schnee was sitting on the right-side bed of her dorm, waiting to unpack. She was uncomfortable doing so until she had a chance to talk to her dorm mate about any dorm rules between them. Except the sun had already set and they hadn't shown.  _Are they late? Are they lost? Who would let themselves get lost without finding their dorm first? That girl, probably… wait… no…_  The door opened and Weiss's worst fears were realized. Ruby Rose stepped into the dorm, with nothing but an over-large duffel bag.

While Weiss was concerned to be dorming with the clumsy girl, Ruby saw the rich girl and saw her second chance to make up for earlier. She had to try at this point, if they were going to be stuck together for the year. Ruby tossed her duffel on the free bed and turned to the white-themed girl. "So, you like the right bed? That's cool, I kinda like the left side. I'm even left handed!"

"It's not like you can choose that." Weiss berated, and saw Ruby's face fall because of it.  _She probably feels bad for earlier, and I did react quickly. If I'm stuck with her, I shouldn't make her an enemy._  With those thoughts and a sigh, Weiss stood and spoke again. "I would know. I'm left handed as well."

"Really?" the redheads eyes lit back up. "Then put 'er there!" She stuck out her left hand for a handshake. Weiss took it reluctantly. "My name's Ruby Rose! Sorry about my klutz attack earlier…" Ruby apologized when they finished shaking. "I'll try not to knock you over next time, promise!"

"So there  _will_  be a next time?" Weiss shook her head.

"Most likely…" Ruby admitted. "So, I just have my duffel. I didn't think the room would be this big… I'm used to sharing anyway, I'll just take the dresser and desk closer to my bed and you can do whatever with the rest of the space."

"Are you sure? What about decorations?" Weiss asked, turning her back to Ruby to unpack.

"I might bring stuff from home during a break, but I honestly don't have much. I think I can fit it all over my own bed and desk." Ruby turned back to the white girl and decided to try a bit of flirting. "I don't mind looking at white and blue anyways. They're surprisingly pleasing to the eye…"

Weiss stopped her unpacking and turned back to the redhead, who had already turned around herself to open the duffel. Weiss had been hit on in the past, she worked hard to look good after all. But that was… really good… Why was her heart beating like this?  _Just shock… I mean, who ever thinks their roommate will be gay?_

 _Thank you, Yang_ , Ruby thought as she felt Weiss stop short from her comment. Ruby herself was a little surprised it went so well. She resolved not to try flirting again for a while. She just raised the bar high on herself, and with her luck, would stumble headlong into that bar next time she jumped.

* * *

The first day of classes was mainly introductions to the courses and how that particular teacher would handle their class. She noticed she shared an arithmetic class with Weiss, though she didn't think Weiss saw her. At lunch Ruby ate with Penny, but after classes she made time to hang out with Yang and Blake. She found them sitting on the grass, leaning against a tree.

"So how was your first day?" Yang asked as she saw her sister draw near.

"I got classes, college, a dorm, a new friend and a crush. I feel… normal." Ruby responded with a smile. Normal was perfect.

"Crush?" Yang asked quickly.

"Who's the new friend?" Blake covered the blonde's blunt question equally quickly.

Ruby looked to Blake, answering her question first. "My new friend's name is Penny! I think she might be a robot… Yesterday I thought it as a joke, but I ate lunch with her and now I'm not so sure…"

"And what about this crush?" Yang asked again, not letting it go.

"Well… guess who I ended up with as a dorm mate?" Ruby eased into the answer. "Weiss Schnee! The girl I knocked over yesterday."

"You have a crush on the daughter of a  _Dust_  magnate?" Blake asked.

"I don't think _that_  should matter. It's behind me." Ruby deadpanned.

"So, you swear up and down you know an android and you have a crush on a girl whose only social interaction with you was to yell at you." Yang summarized. "Are you sure you're not back on you-know-what?"

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, her face horrified.

The blonde immediately realized her mistake and jumped up to hug her sister. "You're right, bad joke. I'm sorry Rubes…"

Ruby returned the hug and they broke away. "Look, no one at Beacon has to know about that stuff, especially Weiss. Please." The redhead asked them both, grabbing her right arm with her left hand and nervously rubbing a spot just below the inside of her elbow with her thumb.

"You got it." Yang promised. Blake nodded in agreement.

Back at the dorms, Weiss was just entering after finishing her last class of the day.  _Ruby's not back yet._  Weiss silently berated herself. She couldn't get the redhead out of her mind all day, and she couldn't fathom why. There was just something about the awkward, clumsy girl that was somehow captivating. She thought over her day. All her classes went well, but she noticed she shared arithmetic with her dorm mate.  _I don't think she saw me, though… wait, why is that a bad thing?_  Weiss also noticed an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw Ruby eating lunch with another girl.

Weiss violently shook her head, trying to shake the girl completely from her thoughts, to no avail. With no studying required after a day of pure course introductions, she resigned to trying to figure out her dorm mate. She was awkward and clumsy alright. Their conversation after unpacking proved her earlier flirt was a fluke. Still, she didn't try to be anything but herself, even around Weiss. It was as if her being rich and powerful didn't bother her… Ruby was treating Weiss as an equal.  _That's it…_  Where most people either wanted to share the perks of her name or used it to judge her harshly like the raven haired woman on the bench, Ruby was just acting like Weiss was just another girl. And it was refreshing. It was nice to be treated as a friend.

* * *

Later in the evening Ruby returned. Weiss was watching a news report on a large TV she had moved in here to replace the mediocre dorm television. The anchorman sat next to a banner that read 'Dust Devil' with a picture of the multi-colored geode.

"Twenty years ago now, Dust was discovered in massive deposits. Hailed as a unique energy alternative to the dwindling fossil fuels, the unique, self-ionizing crystal soon hit the global market." The anchor man spoke. The upcoming topic was still fresh enough for the new stations to require history lessons for its average viewer. "But in recent years, another use for the unique discharge of natural, unrefined Dust was discovered by less reputable individuals."

"Why are you watching this? Don't you already know this stuff?" Ruby asked, an uncomfortable feeling rising in her gut.

"You would be surprised what one can learn by taking information from all angles." Weiss told her. "I intend to take control of my father's company one day, and want to learn all I can."

"Once finely ground and dissolved in hot water, it can then be injected directly into the bloodstream." The anchorman continued. "The high is described as an 'unbridled bliss' surpassing even MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, in its effectiveness. The substance in this form has been proven as highly addictive."

"Well, can we watch something else?" Ruby asked, not wanting to hear the rest of the report.

"In a minute." Weiss told her, oblivious to her dorm mates unease.

"Despite this, is it still surprisingly easy to get one's hands on unrefined Dust, and it remains popular as a cheap and effective high. Overuse has proven to affect a person's ability to feel natural emotions." The anchorman carried on, also oblivious to his viewer's unease. "And that is where the Dust Regulations Act comes into play. Should it pass, unrefined Dust will be officially classified as a narcotic, making it more difficult for individuals to obtain. At the forefront of the charge against the bill is Schnee Mining Company, which boasts the first and largest Dust mine to date, and whose CEO claims that it will also make unrefined Dust harder for mining and energy companies to obtain."

The screen changed to a video feed of a man with white hair and a large white mustache.  _Weiss's father…_

"The world is still in a delicate transition, both globally and financially, of changing over to using Dust over fossil fuels. We need unrestrained access until that change is solidified." He spoke to a crowd.

"Some would claim that your rushed mining and delivery methods are directly responsible for the high availability of unrefined Dust as a drug." A reporter shouted from the crowd.

"The bad decisions of others are not our responsibility." Mr. Schnee stated shortly before taking his leave.

The screen changed back to the anchorman. "The bill is up for vote-"

Weiss handed Ruby the remote, who flipped over to a cartoon channel quickly, knowing the channel number by heart.

"Cartoons?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"Give 'em a chance, Snow Angel." Ruby replied.

"Snow Angel…?"

Ruby didn't respond that time, afraid of what would fall from her mouth next. After a few minutes of watching, Weiss had another question for her dorm mate. "Ruby, are we friends?"

Ruby turned to meet Weiss's blue eyes. "Do you want to be friends?"

"I don't think I've ever had a friend before… not a real one anyway. Just people who only want access to my money or my body." Weiss admitted, though she wasn't sure why she told Ruby so much.

"In that case, we are definitely friends. You have no choice." Ruby announced. "Everybody needs a good friend. Even rich girls."

 _Just like that?_  "Now, wait a minute… shouldn't we talk about, I don't know-"

"No choice, friend!" Ruby shouted, cutting her off.

Weiss smiled and shook her head. "Dolt."

Ruby smiled back. "Snow Angel."


	2. A White Rose Blooms

After that first day, things got busy quickly. College was a whole new experience, but it was a pleasant one for the gothic redhead. Not only was she dorming with the most beautiful being she had ever met, but they were already friends! Her fresh start was looking bright indeed. They finally had a weekend where neither of them had pressing projects or assignments, and Weiss spoke up.

"Do you want to maybe go to the pool while it's still warm out?"

Ruby looked up to her friend in amazement.  _The thought of seeing Weiss in swimwear is intoxicating, but…_ Ruby rubbed her right arm nervously. "What's with the sudden pool day?"

"Friends do stuff together, right?" Weiss sounded unsure. "There's a decent public pool nearby, it won't destroy our skin to swim in it."

Ruby had an idea and smiled. "I'd love too! I gotta pick up some new swimwear though, can we make a pit stop?"

"I don't see why not." Weiss answered as she gathered the necessary items for a pool day. On their way out the door, they ran into Penny.

"Friend Ruby!" Penny greeted the redhead enthusiastically. "You must be Weiss! Friend Ruby talks about you a lot!"

"Does she?" Weiss asked, seeing Ruby's face grow red.

"Quite a lot! Friend Ruby, I have a free weekend, and was curious as to if you wanted to do something?"

"Me and Weiss are going to the pool, actually…" Ruby told her. She kind of wanted to keep the pool day between her and her dorm mate, but she just knew Penny would ask-

"Can I join you two then?"

And then being the kind person she was, Ruby wouldn't be able to stop herself from saying-

"Suuree… why not?"

While Ruby chuckled nervously, Weiss grumbled. She wouldn't have minded a day with just Ruby either, but she couldn't monopolize the girl's free time. If Penny was her friend's friend, she might as well let her tag along.  _I spend enough time with Ruby anyway, we do live together. Though that_ is  _different from having a day with her…_

After a few pit stops for Ruby's new swim suit and Penny's own swimwear (and some powerful sunscreen for the lot of them. Weiss couldn't help but suddenly notice how pale they  _all_  were), the group made it to the pool. Weiss paid for them all and the girls got changed.

Weiss exited the locker room first. She wore a modest, custom made white bikini with a black snowflake symbol on her left cup. She watched the lockers as she waited for Penny and Ruby. Penny exited next, wearing a pale green one piece with a low back. For some reason, Weiss was anxious to see Ruby's swim wear.  _Or perhaps the girl in it._  As Weiss was mentally slapping herself for that thought, Ruby finally emerged.

Ruby wore a black bikini top with spaghetti straps, black booty shorts with a rose motif on the front right, and curiously enough a black compression sleeve over her right elbow that stretched from the middle of her bicep to the middle of her forearm. Of course an outfit only looks as good as the person wearing it looks in it, and Weiss couldn't deny it anymore. For all her child-like tendencies, Ruby Rose was a beautiful woman.

There was something else Weiss could no longer let herself deny. Having Ruby as a friend the last few weeks was a wonderful breath of fresh air after the constant professionalism of the environment she grew up in. All her faults only made her more intriguing to the rich girl.  _It's official. I have a crush on my dorm mate. And I think she has one on me too…_

Weiss smiled as she watched Ruby come to the water. As her eyes passed over the redheads pale skin a thought came to mind. "You remembered sunscreen, right?" She asked the clumsy girl.

Ruby froze and inch form the edge of the water. "Crap." She bolted back into the locker rooms and emerged a few minutes later with the bottle in hand. "I, uhh… need help with my back… if you don't mind?" She nervously asked Weiss.

Weiss nodded and Ruby lay face down in front of her. "If you weren't putting on sunscreen, then why did it take you so long to change?" She asked as she applied the lotion.

"I just… took my time, I guess…" Ruby wasn't going to admit to trying for five whole minutes to put on the sleeve she bought with her new swimsuit today without removing her hoodie or even pushing up her hoodie sleeve up too far.

Weiss ran the lotion over the back of her arms. Ruby fidgeted when she accidentally shifted the compression sleeve. "What's with the sleeve, anyway?" Weiss asked.

"I dunno, looks good, feels good on my skin… I just like it." Ruby answered quickly.

"Well, we should get some sunscreen on your arm under it." Weiss rationalized, reaching for the sleeve.

Ruby sat up quickly, pulling her arm away. "No, it's fine. I don't think I'll be taking it off."

Weiss was slightly shocked. "Well, at least let me get just under the edges. There's no way it's not going to shift around while you're swimming."

"I'll be fine, I'm sure!" Ruby defended, getting to her feet and backing away slowly.

"Ruby, what is the mat-" Weiss never finished her sentence, as Ruby's clumsiness chose that moment to strike. She slipped on a puddle by the pools edges and fell backwards, landing on top of the water with a shriek and a loud  _SMACK!_  "Ruby!" Weiss rushed into the water and helped the girl onto her feet in the shallow end after her epic back-flop.

"Owww… I'm gunna feel that one tomorrow…" Ruby groaned.

"Friend Ruby! Are you okay?" Penny ran over to see to her friend.

"I'll be fine." Ruby assured both her friends. "That wasn't the first time I've done that, unfortunately. At least I didn't take you down with me again, Weiss."

The rich girl shook her head. "At least… Dolt."

Ruby crossed her arms and smiled. "Snow Angel."

The scene with the sleeve just moments before was already forgotten by both girls. The three friends began their day of swimming, splashing, and (for Ruby and Weiss) secretive ogling. They stayed all the way until the pool closed.

* * *

Weiss woke up the next day with one goal in mind. To ask out Ruby Rose. She may have only  _just_  realized she had a crush on the girl, but now that Weiss accepted it, she was pretty sure these feelings had existed for a while. And she was also pretty sure Ruby liked her back, so the rich girl saw no good reason to hold back. She turned in her bed and saw the object of her affections already dressed.

"Are you going somewhere today?" Weiss asked. She noted that today was the first time Ruby had rolled up her right sleeve on her hoodie. The compression sleeve was visible underneath it.

"Yeah, Raven's dropping off my computer and some posters and stuff, and she's taking me and Yang to breakfast as well." Ruby replied.

"Wait, who's Raven?" Weiss's had never heard the name before, and for just a second worried that Ruby might already have someone and that she was reading the redhead all wrong.

"Yang's mom." Ruby answered, to both Weiss's relief and confusion.

Weiss did the math. In their conversations she had learned Ruby was 21, with Yang being the older sister at 23. "If you were born second, then where is your own mother?" Weiss saw Ruby stiffen at her question. "If you don't mind me asking…" the rich girl hastily added on.

"No, it's fine. My mom died a few years back. My family history is all kinds of complicated." Ruby explained.  _And tied to story I'm not ready to tell you…_  she thought to herself, nervously rubbing her arm.

"Well… have fun. I'll see you later, Ruby." Weiss could see Ruby didn't want to elaborate, and gave her an out.

"See ya, Weiss!" Ruby took it with a smile a headed out the door.

Weiss smiled as the redhead left. She realized she had no idea what she was going to say to her, and now she had time to figure it out. She was still going to ask Ruby out by the end of day, it was her personal mission. Sitting at her desk, Weiss tried to organize her thoughts by writing various…  _Well, it would only be accurate to call them 'love letters'._

* * *

By lunchtime, Weiss had made absolutely zero progress finding the perfect words to ask Ruby out with.  _Maybe I just need to barrel through it, run with my instincts…_  Weiss spotted Ruby in the cafeteria and made her way towards her.

"Friend Ruby!"

Weiss detoured quickly at the sound of Penny's voice. If she was going to ask Ruby, she wanted to do it alone. She ended up sitting close enough to overhear Ruby and Penny talk.

"Hello Friend Ruby! How are you to-day?" Penny asked.

_Ruby was right, she does sound like a robot…_

"I'm great! Got my laptop in so I can game again, got some posters, and had a nice breakfast. How about you?" Ruby replied.

"I am sen-sational!"

"All your circuits are in order?" Ruby joked.

"Circuits?" Penny asked, cocking her head.

"Uhh… never mind."

"Friend Ruby, may I ask you a something?"

"You just did." Ruby told her with a light chuckle. "But go ahead."

"I was wondering if… you wanted to do a special lunch sometime?" Penny asked slowly.

_Is she?_

"Special lunch?" Ruby asked in return.

"Like… a date?" Penny continued, cautiously.

_She is…_

"Oh! Umm… sorry, Penny…" Ruby replied, feeling the awkward air coming. "You're a great person, I'm sure someone would be lucky to have you, but I… can't."

_Oh? And why not…?_

"But… I really like you…" Penny head drooped. She didn't expect to be turned down. "We don't have to call it a date… just give me a chance."

"Penny… a few weeks ago, I would have given you that chance… but I like someone else." Ruby told her friend.

Penny looked back up to her friend. "Who, if I may ask?"

Ruby looked around nervously. Weiss hid behind the person sitting next to her, who turned out to be Yang. The two stared at each other, Weiss with surprise and Yang with amusement. The blonde knew Ruby's answer and helped Weiss hide, wanting to watch this play out.

"Okay," Ruby looked back to Penny, "Promise you won't tell anyone, especially Weiss."

"Is it Weiss?" Penny asked, her eyes darting to the rich girl instantly. She knew she was nearby the whole time.

"Well… yes…"

"Well then you are in luck, Friend Ruby!" Penny watched Weiss stand up and begin walking over.

"Why do you say that…?" Ruby asked.

"Because I do believe Weiss heard you!" Penny announced to Ruby's horror.

"What!?" Ruby turned quickly and saw the rich girl standing beside her.

"Penny, would you excuse us, please?" Weiss asked politely.

"Affirmative! Treat her well! Good luck Ruby!" Penny genuinely wished her, oblivious to Ruby's continued embarrassment at her statements.

"Can I just die now…?" the redhead groaned, laying her head on the table.

"Nope. You're not allowed." Weiss told her with a smile. "Because then, I wouldn't be able to take you on a date."

Ruby's head shot back up, silver eyes met icy blue. "A date? For real?"

Weiss nodded. "We can go to a nice dinner, or that café for lunch tomorrow?"

"Dinner sounds perfect." Ruby smiled.

"So I'll 'pick you up' say, seven?" Weiss asked.

"Pick me up? But we live…" The redhead face palmed. "Yes. Seven's perfect."

Weiss giggled. "Dolt."

Ruby found her smile again. "Snow Angel."

* * *

Ruby's nerves were at an all-time high. Even waiting to see if Beacon accepted her or not paled in comparison to the nerves born of her feeling that her clumsiness would somehow ruin tonight. After her shower, she traded her usual hoodie and band tees for a black long-sleeved button up, and managed to find black jeans that were intact. She decided she needed something to offset all the black and borrowed a red tie that Blake had for some reason.

Weiss didn't know why she expected Ruby to wear something more girly, but had to admit she made the outfit work. The rich girl herself exited the bathroom wearing a white knee-length dress with white heels and a white bolero. She's had the jacket forever, but couldn't ignore the fact that the inside lining was red. Ruby couldn't ignore, well, anything. Weiss smiled as she caught her date staring. "It's not too much white?"

"You can wear all the white you want, Snow Angel…" Ruby spoke absent-mindedly. She soon flushed red, realizing she spoke out loud. She still couldn't tear her eyes away, though she did try.

Weiss took Ruby's arm and the pair made their way to the door. The redhead finally managed to look ahead of her instead of locking her eyes on Weiss. She didn't want to take them down again, not tonight.

"You should wear ties more often." Weiss complimented.

"You think so? If you say so, then I'm just gunna have to steal this from Blake." Ruby replied.

They made their way outside to Weiss's car, a convertible that was, unsurprisingly, white. Ruby didn't mind, already knowing white fit Weiss best. As they were getting in, Ruby saw something out of the corner of her eye. Long, dark hair, ember eyes and a sadistic smile treated her peripheral vision. Silver eyes grew wide as Ruby did a double take the direction she spotted the girl. "Cinder…?"

Weiss looked the way Ruby was looking and saw nothing. "'Cinder'?" Weiss asked innocently.

Ruby reacted as though she forgot Weiss was even there, jumping in her seat at the sound of her voice as if surprised. "What? Who? Did I say that?"

 _Surprised… or scared._  Weiss remembered the sleeve incident from the pool yesterday. "Yes, you did."

"Sorry." Ruby told her. "I don't know why. It's nothing." The redhead offered a smile, but Weiss could tell the girl was working to steady her breath, and perhaps even her heart.

Weiss suddenly felt as if though her date was hiding something from her. It was a feeling she didn't like, but she couldn't let it ruin their date. She decided to shrug it off, for now.

With that mindset, she drove them to the restaurant she had picked out. It was a small Italian place, with a homey environment and really good food. Really pricey food too, Ruby quickly noticed. "Um, Weiss…"

"Don't worry." Weiss assured her. "I'm paying. I asked you, after all."

"Weiss, you know you don't have to."

"I really appreciate you like me for me, and not my money. You should know, though, that only makes me  _want_  to spoil you. So I will."

Ruby smiled. "Well, don't go crazy with it, okay? I don't need my own mountain or the moon or anything…"

"I like to think I have a little more sense than  _that_." Weiss told her date, while mentally starting a list of 'What  _Not_  to Buy Ruby'.

Dinner proceeded wonderfully. They laughed, told embarrassing stories they wouldn't tell anyone else, and even enjoyed a period of silence without it becoming awkward. Ruby spoke first after the silence. "'That's when you know you've found somebody special. When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence.' Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace, Pulp Fiction."

"A movie quote?" Weiss asked. "Other than the foul language, I quite liked it."

"You've never seen Pulp Fiction?" Ruby asked. "Well, maybe you wouldn't like it that much. It is a  _bit_ excessive."

"Do you like it?" Weiss asked in return.

"I do, actually." Ruby nodded.

"I suppose I could try it with you sometime." Weiss told her with a smile.

"You have  _no_ idea what you're in for." Ruby responded, returning the smile.

The girl's eventually finished their food and returned home. They walked, hand in hand, back into their dorm.

"I haven't been on many dates, but this is usually when the pair go their separate ways…" Ruby started.

"We sleep in the same room, but if you want to emulate that and go on a walk alone, I suppose you could." Weiss responded.

"Actually, I was thinking more… there's something else couples usually do at his point, before they part ways…" Ruby concluded with red cheeks.

"Ruby Rose, are you asking for a kiss?" Weiss asked.

Ruby whole face turned red. "Well… if you don't want to-" Weiss cut Ruby off by pressing their lips together softly. Ruby melted, so much so that when Weiss broke away the redhead lost her balance. Weiss barely managed to catch and hold her up.

"Hahaha, I didn't know I was that good." Weiss joked.

Ruby noticed she was still in Weiss's arms. She smiled and wrapped her own around the rich girl. "You're perfect."

It was Weiss's turn to flush red. They shared another, longer kiss before parting ways for their beds. Just before Weiss shut her table light off, she heard Ruby ask her one last question.

"Girlfriends?"

Weiss smiled. "Girlfriends." She nodded and shut the light off.


	3. Meet the Parents

Things only kept getting better and better for Ruby. She was almost amazed at how much her life had turned around. College at 21, a bright future, and the most beautiful girl anyone could ever call 'theirs'. Apart from the occasional dodged question about why she kept her arm hidden, it was the perfect existence. The weeks passed quickly, and their feelings only grew.

For Weiss, this also meant her irritation grew at the mystery presented before her. She couldn't deny that they had a lot of happy times, but she noticed Ruby tended to stumble over her words. Not because she was bad at speaking, rather she was avoiding revealing some vital information about said mystery. As Weiss ran through everything Ruby had ever told her in her head, she realized she still knew nothing about the girl from high school to Beacon. Six entire years unaccounted for, and Weiss felt the mystery of her right arm was tied to it all.

As much as she hated the feeling of Ruby hiding something from her, she couldn't press the issue this week. They had their first school break, and they were using it to knock out two nerve racking events. The dreaded 'meet the parents'. Ruby and Weiss organized it so they would go to the Schnees for one night, and then do the Xiao Long's a few nights later. Weiss was far more concerned with how her parents would take Ruby than she was about Ruby's parents accepting her.

It was a concern that stayed with her to this very moment, in which the couple stood in the elevator leading to a penthouse suite. Of course, there was a Schnee Manor, but it was too far from Beacon for a pair of college students to travel for a single dinner. One of the reasons Weiss transferred there, even though her credits couldn't come with her and she had to start from freshman year again. The penthouse was purchased in case Weiss needed a place to stay, but she chose the dorms anyway.

Weiss looked over her girlfriend. She had tried to get Ruby to wear something more traditional, but the girl stubbornly put on her black button up and red tie ensemble this morning instead of the sleeveless dress Weiss got her. The redhead  _did_  warn her when Weiss stubbornly bought it against Ruby's wishes, so they decided to compromise by getting Ruby a vest to compliment the shirt and tie and dropping the dress issue entirely.

_She does make that look good. Ruby in a dress, what was I thinking…_

The elevator finally opened, and Ruby was a little overwhelmed by the elegance of this place. Weiss led her shell-shocked girlfriend to the dining area, where her parents were waiting. Mr. and Mrs. Schnee sat at a large circular table while a professional chef worked in the kitchen behind them. "So, you are Ms. Rose." Mrs. Schnee noted her arrival with a smile.

"Hello Mrs. Schnee. Mr. Schnee." Ruby wasn't sure if she would wave or bow or do nothing. Weiss quickly led her to the table to sit down before she did anything.

"So, Ruby." Mr. Schnee spoke in a comforting type voice, which worried Weiss. If he wasn't immediately hostile to Ruby, then he had something else ready. "You're 21, correct? Do you drink alcohol?"

"No, sir." Ruby tried her best to maintain a semblance of professionality, desperately hoping she didn't klutz this up. "I prefer milk, if you have any."

"Milk? How curious." Mrs. Schnee seemed to like the look of Ruby, much to Weiss's relief. At least her mother wouldn't cause any issue just yet.

Dinner was served and the interrogation into Ruby's life goals began. Ruby told them of how she planned to become a computer designer, with most of her classes focusing on or working towards computer and software engineering. Halfway through the meal, Weiss's father finally revealed the information he had been sitting on since the beginning. "You certainly must have impressed someone high up at Beacon." He told the young girl. "Not many students get in on just a GED."

Weiss set her fork down.  _A GED? But wouldn't that mean she didn't graduate from actual high school?_  Weiss looked over and saw Ruby had frozen with the fork halfway in her mouth.

The redhead set the fork back down without actually taking a bite. "How did you learn that?"  _And what else do you know?_

"It's not hard for me to find everything on someone I take interest in. Except… I can't seem to find you for three years after you drop out of Signal High, and then you suddenly reappear in an adult make up school program." Ruby kept a stony exterior, though mentally she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ruby, why haven't you told me?" Weiss asked.

"It never really came up in conversation." Ruby replied. "I'm sorry I never brought it up, I didn't think it would be a big deal… It's not something I think about."

"So what  _did_  happen during those three years?" Mr. Schnee asked.

Ruby stared at her food, refusing to look him in the eye as he spoke. "Nothing important."

"For three years? That's a lot of 'nothing important', even for a grieving child." He goaded. He knew there was some juicy secret, and this girl had to gall to date his daughter and hide it from  _both_  of them?

"Grieving?" Weiss asked. Ruby saw a window out, if she could take it without hitting a wall.

"I dropped out of high school just after my mom died. And you knew that, didn't you?" Ruby looked back to Mr. Schnee. "If you could find all this out, but not me for the three years after, then isn't it possible I was doing nothing important? Too low for your radar?"

Mr. Schnee was surprised by the girl's sudden tenacity. He had underestimated this opponent, and had to recover the situation quickly. "Of course, you're right. How silly of me. You  _are_  dating my daughter, perhaps I am trying too hard to find fault. I apologize."

"Apology accepted. Thank you for a wonderful meal." Ruby stood and left the room without waiting for a response.

"And there goes a brilliant mind." Mr. Schnee said in his daughter's direction. "She dropped out of high school, finished the makeup in just two years, and got into Beacon soon after." As he listed off the high points for his daughter's benefit, he silently berated himself for not seeing the obvious. Someone with those unique accomplishments would certainly have more intelligence then they appeared to possess.

Weiss thanked her parents for the meal properly and went after Ruby. She saw the lights above the elevator mark its descent. The girl had already left the penthouse.  _Damn it, father…_  By the time Weiss caught up with her girlfriend, she was already sitting in Weiss's car.  _But, how?_ The rich girl was sure she still had they key. A quick check of her pockets and purse revealed no car keys.

Weiss got into the driver's seat and turned to Ruby. "I'm sorry for my father. He gets really protective."

"Will you be mad if I say 'If I never see him again, it will be too soon'?" Ruby asked in reply.

"Maybe a little, but don't think I don't understand." Weiss answered. Ruby handed her the key and she started the car. "Ruby… what  _did_  happen during those three years?"

"Nothing, Weiss. Nothing at all. I just stayed at home and grieved." Weiss nodded and began the drive.

Ruby watched the scenery pass her window for the whole drive. She couldn't bring herself to look at her girlfriend. She tried so hard not to lie, telling many half-truths and completely dodging many questions. But she knew Weiss was getting more anxious, that she wouldn't give up without an answer. And so Ruby lied to her. For the first time, Ruby lied to Weiss. And it hurt, because Weiss believed her on the spot. She trusted her, and Ruby repaid that favor by lying to her.

* * *

Ruby was packing clothes in the dorm the day they would leave for the Xiao Long household. Weiss was fed up with Ruby's hole riddled jeans (Ruby called it her saintly attire, for it was so 'holey') and finally talked the redhead into getting rid of them and letting Weiss take her clothes shopping. And so Ruby packed away a number of clothes to be dropped off at home and replaced with clothing Weiss would probably trick Ruby into letting her pay for as well.

Weiss was across the room from Ruby when she spotted something curious, a syringe on Ruby's nightstand. She had never seen the thing before, and she and Ruby had already gotten to the relationship stage where all their things managed to co-mingle in their environment. "Ruby, what is this?" Weiss asked, looking across the room to her packing girlfriend.

Ruby looked at the syringe and her eyes went wide. "What the…? Where did…?"

"I just found it here, on your nightstand." Weiss responded.

Ruby picked the syringe up quickly. Weiss didn't even hear her cross the room, she moved so quick. "I have no idea! I've never seen it before. Let's just… toss it! Yeah, let's throw it away!" Ruby dropped it in the trashcan and the pair heard it shatter on the bottom. "We should get going, Weiss! We don't want to be late!"

Weiss was rushed out of the dorm before she could remark on the curious incident. Ruby busied herself explaining the directions to her home to Weiss, and successfully avoided an awkward conversation about her hasty reaction to the needle. As they got closer, Weiss felt nervous about the off chance Ruby's family didn't warm up to her. A repeat of the Schnee family dinner the other night was far from ideal.

But the Xiao Long's accepted Weiss in an instant, and dinner went splendidly. It was certainly very different from a Schnee dinner. It felt warm and inviting, and the whole thing reminded her of Ruby.  _Is this what 'family' really feels like? Where instead of heavy professionalism, you get things like-_

"I think it should be socially acceptable to fart in public!"

_Like that?_

Yang had let a fart loose a moment before, to everyone's disgust, and that was her reaction to their reactions. "Seriously, farts are harmless, and you can control them about as well as you can control a sneeze! Sneezes can be  _way_  more harmful, but it's perfectly fine to sneeze in public! A sneeze can spread sickness, but a fart is a fart!"

Her rant had the whole table in stiches with laughter. It took everyone a while to calm down, and Ruby had to actually use the restroom from laughing so much. Weiss watched her walk away, and took to opportunity to have a quiet conversation with Yang. She nudged the blonde's arm and leaned in close. "Did Ruby ever take any medications?"

"Medications? What do you mean, like Tylenol or prescribed stuff?" Yang asked.

"Well, I know she was grieving her mom for three years." Weiss told her. She missed Yang's flinch. "I found a syringe today and thought, maybe it was for some hardcore anti-depressant stuff she's embarrassed at having to take."

"Wait, you found  _what?_ " Yang asked, her tone more serious then Weiss had ever heard.

"A syringe…" Weiss answered slowly.

"How did she react when you found it?"

"She said she had no idea how it got there and she threw it away. I think it broke at the bottom of the can…" Weiss was becoming suspicious of the whole affair once again.

Yang was deep in thought. She promised she wouldn't out her sister's secret to Weiss, but had Ruby seriously not told her girlfriend yet? "I don't remember Rubes needing any syringe based meds. Perhaps someone snuck it into your room as a bad joke? I'm pretty sure it's nothing, Weiss, don't worry."

Weiss nodded, accepting the answer. Dinner ended on the high note of Weiss being invited back whenever she wanted. As they set themselves to leave, Yang grabbed Ruby's arm. "Hey, there's something I wanted to show Ruby," She told Weiss, "I'll only have her a minute." With that, Yang dragged her sister into her room.

Once behind the locked door, Yang rounded on Ruby with fury in her eye. "Weiss told me she found a syringe in your dorm."

Ruby couldn't say she didn't see this coming. "Look, I have no idea how it got there! I swear, I thought I got rid of them all! I must have missed one and accidently packed it. Maybe it got stuck in a sock or something."

Yang knew Ruby could be a good liar when she wanted to be. A skill she had unfortunately picked up in a darker period of her life. But, from time to time, Yang could also tell when Ruby was being genuinely honest.  _Like now._  The blonde let out a sigh of relief. "You tossed the syringe, right?"

"I made sure it broke on the bottom of the trashcan." Ruby answered.

"Good." Yang hugged her sister and smiled. "You keep doing good. Now run along! The love of your life is waiting for you, for Christ's sake! Go, woman!"

Ruby ran back out to Weiss and the two bid farewell to everyone and drove away to clothes shop and go back to the dorm. Once they returned, Ruby didn't even bother turning a light on, she just collapsed onto her bed.

"What, no goodnight kiss?" Weiss teased, though she was genuinely disappointed, if only a little. Ruby stood back up and tried to walk the direction of her girlfriend's voice. Unfortunately, the couch was in the way, and Ruby fell over the arm and landed face-first on the seat cushions. Refusing to move once more, she simply groaned into the couch. "How can one person be so clumsy?" Weiss asked aloud, helping Ruby up.

Ruby smiled and pulled. Instead of the redhead coming to her feet, Weiss fell onto the couch on top of her. "Mwaha, my plan worked perfectly…"

"Your plan to fall over the couch so you could pull me into this position?" Weiss asked in disbelief. There was no way the girl's tired brain planned this from the start.

"Totally."

_No way indeed._

Ruby smiled and gave Weiss her goodnight kiss. And then another. And then a few more… the girl's soon understood that their innocent goodnight kiss was turning into something a little more heated. The lovers pressed into each other, and Weiss found herself lost in Ruby's scent of strawberries and roses. Ruby still had some of her senses, though, and despite being on bottom she managed to push Weiss up and at a more PG distance.

"Sorry, but I think it's still a little early for that…" Ruby told her.

"Right… sorry…" Weiss sounded defeated, but she understood. "I just… got lost in the moment."  _I got lost in you_.

Ruby caught the true meaning and smiled. "We can still, y'know… cuddle for the night? If you want to."

"I do." Weiss smiled back. "But not on the couch, please. One of the beds?"

"Sounds good!"

The couple stood and changed into their sleeping clothing before coming together on Weiss's bed. They were careful not to kiss again, afraid that neither of them would be able to stop themselves another time. But it didn't matter. They had each other, and the best night's sleep either of them ever had.


	4. Fragments of the Past

Ruby and Weiss were walking down the street by the Xiao Long household. Weiss and Ruby were consistently invited back every couple of weekends, and even started staying the night. The first time led to an interesting morning when Yang found the couple sharing Ruby's bed. Today Ruby and Weiss decided to go on a short walk before lunch.

As they walked, a little boy came up to them. He was dirty and obviously homeless. When he asked for some money, Weiss gave him a 20 dollar bill she had in her front pocket. "Oh, thank you, miss!" he shouted, hugging the rich girl around the middle. He began to run down the street, but Ruby reached out and caught him by the arm before he went too far. Silver eyes stared him down and Ruby held out her hand.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Weiss asked, shocked.

The boy tried to hand Ruby the 20 and the redhead shook her head. "Keep the bill. That's not what I want you to give back." The boy's face fell. He pocketed the 20 and pulled out a white wallet with a black snowflake design.

"That looks like…" Weiss quickly checked her pockets. "That  _is_  mine! How?"

"When he hugged you." Ruby told her girlfriend, handing her the wallet as the boy ran away. "It's a trick I've seen before. If you give a beggar money, you don't expect them to pick your pocket right after."

Weiss put the wallet in her front pocket this time. "Where have you seen it before?"

"Around." Ruby answered vaguely. "It may not look it now, but this wasn't always a decent neighborhood."

The boy ran around the corner and approached a taller girl with dark hair and a darker smile. "Sorry, miss Cinder, I tried but the other girl caught me."

"It's fine." Cinder told him. "I was hoping for it, actually. It's nice to see Bright Eyes is just as sharp as ever."

The beggar child brushed off this statement and took off. Cinder watched Ruby from the distance. Her dark smile grew. Ruby was a good student, and one she dearly missed.

Oblivious to their watcher, Weiss and Ruby returned to the Xiao Long household. Blake was over today too. She and Yang were watching something on the television.

"The Dust Regulations vote? That's today?" Weiss asked. Yang nodded. "I get why Blake would watch it, she's going into politics. But aren't you studying to open a gym?"

"The vote interests me." Yang shrugged.

"Why?" Weiss asked. Yang was hesitant to answer.  _Ruby, how long are you gunna keep that all a secret?_

"She knows someone who used to be hooked on it." Blake answered for her.

"Used to?" Weiss replied. "Well, at least they're not anymore. Not all those degenerates are hopeless."

"Degenerates!?" Blake shouted. If only Weiss  _knew_. The raven-haired girl's outburst distracted Weiss from Ruby tensing up beside her. "You can't just group them all together like that! You have no idea what can drive a person to do that kind of stuff! It's not always the fault of the eventual user!"

"I've met  _many_  Dust abusers, for your information. And they were all the same. I think you would be surprised to know how many of them are, in fact, degenerates!" Weiss shouted back.

"I think  _you're_ the one who would be surprised to-!" Ruby jumped between the two girls, cutting Blake off and pushing Weiss out the door.

"Hey, Snow Angel, there's this ice cream stand in the park I've wanted to take you to for a while!" She stated loudly. "I just gotta grab some cash, I'll be right out!" Ruby shut the door, leaving Weiss alone on the porch. She turned to Blake. "What the hell!?" She whisper shouted.

"I'm sorry, Ruby." Blake told her. She couldn't believe she almost broke her promise and outed her friend's secret. "I just can't help but think of how quickly she would change her tune if she only  _knew_."

"Ruby." Yang interrupted. "You have to tell her. Not only does she deserve to know, but at this point, how many times have you straight up lied to her to keep it quiet?"

"Just once…" Ruby told them, rubbing her arm. "Look, I  _will_  tell her. But at the same time,  _I_  will tell her. Please."

"You should do it sooner rather than later." Blake warned.

"I know." Ruby grabbed a few bills from a nearby jar the house used for group change. "I'm taking her for that ice cream, going to try and calm her down. Let me know how the vote goes, kay?"

Ruby joined Weiss on the porch and the two took off. "I'm sorry I'm always at ends with Blake. She just gets on my nerves sometimes…" Weiss spoke up halfway to the stand.

Ruby nodded. "At the risk of making you mad at me, she _does_  have a point. Even if a lot of them are 'degenerates', not every story is so black and white."

"That's what irks me. I know that. She doesn't have to be so quick and angry when pointing out my faults, but she  _is_  right…" Weiss admitted. "Shades of gray… Is that the way it is with Yang's friend?"

"Yang's friend… yeah." Ruby rubbed her arm.

"Can I ask for the story?" Weiss ventured.

"Sh-… they don't like other people telling the story for them." Ruby replied uneasily.

Weiss and Ruby continued in silence. As they got closer to the ice cream stand, a voice called out.

"Ruby Rose. Long time no see."

The voice stopped the redhead dead in her tracks. That voice was one she never wanted to hear again, a voice that haunted both her darker dreams and her darker memories. She turned and silver eyes met ember ones. Cinder Fall, flanked as always by her cronies, the green haired Emerald Sustrai and the silver haired Mercury Black.

"Do I know you?" Ruby asked, hoping Weiss missed the hostile edge in her voice. Whether the rich girl missed it or not, Cinder didn't.

"I'm hurt. You don't remember me?" Cinder turned to Weiss. "Ruby and I are old friends from-"

"High school." Ruby cut in. "Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first." Ruby put on a kind face and a smile. It fooled Weiss well enough, but Cinder taught Ruby all the dark tricks she knows. "Weiss, this is Autumn Spark. Autumn, this is Weiss Schnee."

"Yes. High School." 'Autumn' agreed with her own mask of kindness. "It  _has_  been some time. How many years again?"

"Six years… No wonder I didn't recognize you. I'm surprised you recognized me."

"Oh, you haven't changed as much as you may think…" Cinder told the redhead.

Ruby didn't miss the double meaning. "I think I have, actually." She shot back.

"I thought you dropped out of high school?" Weiss asked.

"You have to be in something at  _some_  point to 'drop out' of it." Ruby replied.

"Good point." Weiss nodded.

"Well, I can see you're busy. We should catch up sometime, Ruby." Cinder turned to walk away.

"It was nice to meet you, Autumn!" Weiss called out after her. "She seemed nice. How come I haven't heard of her before now?"

"I didn't even recognize her at first." Ruby pointed out. "I haven't thought about her in years."

Weiss nodded and payed for their ice cream before Ruby could stop her. As they teased and flirted all the way back to the house, Ruby kept her unease in the back of her mind. She had just lied, a lot, right to Weiss's face just now. And it was  _so_  easy. It made Ruby uncomfortable, but what was she supposed to say?  _This is Cinder Fall, the girl who dragged me into the darkest period of my life, which I still haven't told you about yet in our many months together? Yeah, right…_

When they re-entered the house Yang was inside alone. "Did we miss the vote?" Weiss asked.

"It was shot down." Yang answered. "Blake left because she didn't want to accidently start more shit with you. The news report all but actually stated that your dad's company was why it failed."

Weiss frowned. After shouting with Blake and talking to Ruby just now, she actually hoped the bill would pass, even if it did mean damaging Schnee Mining's profits. They may not be directly responsible for the bad choices of others, but that didn't mean they had to help make it so easy for those choices to be made.

* * *

That night, as Weiss and Ruby settled into bed, the goodnight kiss became heated once again. This kept happening every couple of nights since that first time on the couch. This time it was Weiss who had to stop them. "Ruby, it's happening again…" She managed to say and she pushed her girlfriend away.

"So what?" Ruby pulled on Weiss's shoulders, trying to bring her close. "It may be a little early, but I know I love you."

Weiss froze. That was the first time either of them said that, out loud at least. "Don't say that now…"

It was Ruby's turn to freeze, out of fear. "Why not?"

"Because…" Weiss smiled. "I won't be able to stop myself, because I know…"

Ruby smirked and pulled on Weiss again. "I love you." She whispered in the rich girl's ear. Weiss's breath hitched as Ruby kissed down her neck. "I love you." She whispered again.

"I…"

"Say it."

"I love you too…"

With that, any thought of self-control was lost. The lovers tried to get closer and closer, pressing against each other. They pulled, and pulled, eventually pulling clothing right off. The only article that managed to stay on was that blasted compression sleeve. Weiss allowed herself a moment of annoyance before making herself forget about it. She wasn't going to ruin this, not now. If they were going through with this, it was going to be perfect.

And it was perfect. Weiss was nervous about performing, but Ruby seemed confident. The redhead surprised her by taking control, and she seemed to know just what to do. It felt unbelievable. "Had a lot of practice you didn't tell me about?" Weiss spoke out through heavy breaths.

Ruby froze for a moment, memories passing behind her eyes.  _No, I won't think about that. Not her. Tonight is just about me and the girl I love._  "Maybe I'm just naturally talented."

Naturally or not, she certainly proved she was talented.

* * *

Weiss woke the next morning with memories of the night before dominating her mind. There was also a mass of dark red hair in her face. At some point in the night she had become the big spoon.  _Only time I'll ever be big. Seriously, Ruby's already taller when I'm in heels…_

Weiss sat up carefully, not wanting to wake her girlfriend. The blanket fell, and she remembered neither of them dressed after last night's events. Logically, she knew it didn't matter after what they already did. She still drew the blanket up to cover herself, making it accidently slide off Ruby more. Weiss was like a deer in headlights, her vision locked on Ruby's body. Not in an erotic way, but because Weiss found her just that beautiful.

Weiss could see everything from the belly button up, and to her mind it was just so perfect, like a living painting from a renaissance artist.  _If they painted nude vampires_ , Weiss joked to herself. Well, still not entirely nude. There was the constant, annoying presence that was the compression sleeve. It was more than a fashion statement, Weiss was sure. Ruby was hiding  _something_. But what? A tattoo? Self harm scars, perhaps?

_From this angle and position, I could slip the sleeve down until I finally see what Ruby's been hiding… She never even has to know…_

Weiss would love to say she had more self-control. That she could wait until Ruby was genuinely ready to show her. But she had already waited so long, and her curiosity won out. She  _had_  to know. So slowly, carefully, she rolled down the sleeve until she found what Ruby kept so secret. There was a patch of skin, just below the inside of her elbow, which was about an inch in diameter and discolored by innumerable pock-marks.

_Injection scars…_  Weiss's eyes grew wide as she made the horrific deduction. She had seen these kinds of injection scars before, on documentaries and in files at her father's company. The size of the individual pock-marks on the few she could isolate were tell-tale signs of the wider-gauge needle necessary to push the thick, liquid form of Dust into one's veins.

Dosers. That's what they called themselves on the streets, the people who abuse the modified, narcotic state of the energy crystals. And it would seem Ruby Rose was once one of them. Weiss could tell there wasn't a single spot younger than a few years, but it was impossible to tell whether there were dozens or hundreds of little pock-marks. Ruby wasn't a Doser anymore, but she was at one point. And a pretty heavy one, it would seem.

Weiss slowly and carefully rolled the sleeve back up. A lot of things made a lot more sense now. Ruby always seemed uncomfortable when the topic of the room was Dust, especially Dust as a drug.  _Like the news report the second day we knew each other…_  And why wouldn't she hide something like that from Weiss? Not only the daughter of the largest Dust magnate, but the woman she came to love?  _She's probably afraid I'll see her as another junkie… another 'degenerate'..._

And then there was the syringe, and Yang's reaction when Weiss told her about it. And three years… three years after Ruby's mom died that are completely unaccounted for.

" _Nothing, Weiss. Nothing at all. I just stayed at home and grieved."_

But did she? Would Ruby actually go so far as to  _lie_  to her to keep it a secret? Weiss needed to talk to someone, someone close to Ruby who might know that time period.  _Someone like her sister, Yang Xiao Long._

Weiss stood and dressed into her nightclothes. She made sure Ruby was covered by the blanket before she left the room. With that, she set off in the hopes Yang was awake.


	5. A Past Exposed

Weiss found Yang making pancakes in the kitchen. Yang turned when she heard someone walk in and smirked when she saw it was her sister's girlfriend. "You and Ruby sleep alright?" She asked.

"Yang, I need to talk to you about something." Weiss opened with a serious tone.

Yang's tone changed to match. "About what?"

"I… I found Ruby's injection scars."

The two girls stared at each other, Weiss with resolve and Yang with concern for Ruby, until the pancake she was cooking almost burned. Yang turned the heat off so she could focus on Weiss. "What did she say?"

"She doesn't actually know… I peeked under the sleeve she wears a few minutes ago. She's still asleep." Weiss admitted. Yang took Weiss's hand and led her away, locking both of them in the blonde's room.

"I assume you want to know everything?" Yang asked.

"It's Dust, isn't it? Or rather, it was." Weiss replied. Yang nodded. "That seems… extreme. Even for her mom dying."

"You need the whole story to understand." Yang sat cross legged and invited Weiss to do the same.

"'Not every story is so black and white.'" Weiss nodded and sat down.

When they were both sat on the floor and looking at each other, Yang continued. "I don't know what all you _do_  know, so I'm going to start from the beginning and say everything." Weiss nodded again and focused on the story.

"My dad, Taiyang, met my mom, Raven. They fell in love, and eventually had me. But my mom got scared. She thought she was too young to raise a family, and ran out on us to 'live her life'. It devastated dad. But then he met Summer, and they had Ruby. No offense to my mom, but Summer was like, the best mom ever. Dad was happy again, I got a little sister that I loved to death, and we were a family. For fifteen years. Then, when Ruby was fifteen and I was seventeen, a drunk driver ran Summer down while she was crossing the street.

"Summer died on impact. None of us took it well. Dad buried himself in his work, he wouldn't even come home for days at a time. It left me and Ruby alone. When I saw he was failing us, I should have stepped up. I should have at least been there for Ruby, but…" Yang pulled a coin out of her pocket and handed it to Weiss. "I failed her too…"

Weiss turned the coin over in her hand. "A sobriety chip?"

"Almost four years sober now." Yang told her proudly. "But you see? It wasn't just Summer's death for Ruby. Me and dad might as well have vanished as well. It was like dominoes. Mom died, Dad vanished, I got perpetually drunk, and Ruby watched it all. She lost all of us in a matter of weeks, and it destroyed her."

"Still, turning to injecting Dust… I don't get it." Weiss lamented.

"Ruby didn't make that decision on her own. There were some bad people in the neighborhood, led by a girl named Cinder. They took advantage of her while she was emotionally weak.  _They_  got her hooked."

 _Cinder… that's what Ruby said when we went to dinner… did she see her?_ Weiss took the information in. "So what changed? What made everyone better now?"

"Raven is actually the reason we're all together again. She came back after she heard Summer died. She still loved dad, and she wanted to make up for running away. I don't want to say 'it was the perfect situation for it' because she wasn't trying to weasel back in or replace Summer. She wanted to fix things, she really did. She was even ready to take Ruby in, knowing she couldn't blame dad for loving someone else after what she did."

"But it  _was_  the perfect situation." Weiss noted. "I get what you're trying to say."

"She brought dad home, and together they convinced me to go to meetings." Yang continued. "It took all three of us to bring Ruby back."

"Was it really that bad?" Weiss never considered one tale about a single girl's descent to drugs could be so complicated. Ruby may have dosed herself, but she was still the victim. Of circumstance, and of this Cinder girl.

"It was mostly Cinder. From what little we know from the two and a half years Ruby was with her, Cinder played her like an instrument. For some reason, she just dug her claws into her…"

"Two and a half  _years_? And Ruby's never told you anything?"

"She's talked about that part of her life without being vague about it exactly twice, and only to me alone. The first time was soon after we finally brought her home. She'd lock herself in her room, trying to hide from the world, from Cinder and from Dust. One time she let me in, and she told me what it felt like to 'dose Dust.'"

"Unparalleled bliss, right? That's how everyone describes it." Weiss thought to the documentaries she's watched.

"Everyone on TV. But Ruby wasn't in an interview. I think she was trying to cope by recapturing the feeling by memory alone." Yang closed her eyes. She could see her memory of a version of Ruby that was more or less emotionless, with dulled eyes. As memory Ruby spoke, Yang parroted the words to Weiss. "'It did more than make me happy. It made me unable to be sad. Between doses, I would think of mom, and could only think of how she was gone. But when I was high, I could think of mom, and my brain shut the dark memories away. I remembered what she smelled like, all the Christmas and birthday presents. I remembered  _her_ , and how alive she was.'"

Yang opened her eyes and returned to the present. Weiss was amazed. All the documentaries she ever watched, and no one described it like that.

"She continued to say she got 'philosophical' once, between doses." Yang carried on. "She wondered if her body was really addicted to the chemical, or if  _she_  was addicted to the artificial happiness. But the thought made her sad. Made her feel like she failed her mom. So she dosed again to make the pain go away."

Weiss had no idea there would be so much information to absorb. Every Doser tale Weiss had heard to date was all about how they had heard of the high and wanted to experience it. They chased happiness. But Ruby was running from depression. It was an extreme look at the other end of the spectrum.

"What about the second time?" Weiss asked once she was ready for more.

"The second time was a few months later, when she was a lot closer to better than not. She still refused to talk about any of it. It made me angry. I screamed at her, 'I just want to help, let me in already!' and she got really quiet. A little while later, after mom and dad went to bed, she finally spoke up. I kinda forgot I had yelled at her, we were watching TV. But I will never forget what she said.

"She looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'I don't talk about it, because I'm afraid I'll start to miss it.' That scared me. I mean, I've avoided bars like the plague, but I know it's a little irrational to think just smelling alcohol will put me back on the barstool. But to be genuinely afraid of returning to something like that because of the mere  _memory_ of it?"

"I could never imagine…" Weiss agreed.

"To this day she still refuses to talk about it. Getting accepted to Beacon was a huge step forward. And then Ruby got you, and I haven't seen her so happy in a long time. So… don't confront her about this, okay? Let her come to you. I told you all this because you deserve to know, but she  _needs_  to come to you on her own, for  _her_  sake."

Weiss nodded. "I think I understand."

They heard a knock at the door. "Yang? Did you steal Weiss?" Ruby's voice sounded through the wood.

Yang opened the door and smiled at Ruby, who had thankfully dressed before leaving her own room. "Just had to give her some big sister talk."

"Big sister talk?" Ruby cocked her head in confusion.

Yang smirked. "Don't tell me you two thought you were being subtle? I heard everything. Though it was hard  _not_  to hear Weiss. You must have been doing something right Rubes. Good job." Both girls turned bright red. As they awkwardly shuffled into the kitchen, Yang pulled Weiss to the side. "We  _are_  having the real big sister talk next chance we get." She whispered. Weiss nodded.

Raven and Taiyang had woken up while Yang spoke to Weiss, and were already in the kitchen when the three girls came back.

"Hey Rubes." Taiyang greeted, trying not to smile. Once everyone got food and sat down, he turned back to his youngest. "Are you sure you don't have a  _little_  Raven in you?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Raven answered, "Only a real wild child would get it on with their lover so loudly just down the hall from their father." Weiss and Ruby's embarrassment returned in full force. "Who was the loud one?"

"Definitely Weiss." Yang cut in.

"Wow. Got some real talent Rubes," Taiyang took over next, "Proud of you!"

At this point Weiss resembled a tomato and Ruby had dropped her face onto the table. "I hate all of you…" The redhead grumbled, and her family couldn't hold their laughter in anymore.

* * *

Ruby was making her way back to her dorm after classes. Weiss still had classes left today, and Ruby wouldn't see her for another two hours. It wasn't the only thing bothering her though. It had now been two weeks since Cinder cornered her in the park, and Ruby hadn't seen hide nor hair of the girl. It bothered her because she knew the kind of person Cinder was, and if she was tormenting Ruby then there was some rhyme and reason to it.  _So why hasn't she made her move yet?_

The redhead shook the vile woman from her thoughts. Tomorrow was a rare day she and Weiss both were free of classes, and Ruby wanted to plan something special she would actually pay for, for once.  _It's about time I get to treat my own girlfriend._

Ruby smiled wide as she entered the dorm, eager to use her two hours to make the perfect date. Her smile shattered when she saw who was inside.

"Ruby Rose. Long time, no see." Cinder teased. "Hello again, Bright Eyes."

Ruby glared at Cinder, closing the door behind her before speaking. "How did you get in here?"

"Like you need to ask." Cinder's devious smile grew. "Did you get my present?"

"Present?" Ruby thought back.  _The syringe… that's where it came from…_ "No, actually, I didn't" she deadpanned.

"Too bad." Cinder stepped passed Ruby and stopped at the door. "Leave a note for your girlfriend telling her you will be working on a group project with some class-mates and will be returning late. There are things I wish to discuss."

"No." Ruby told her. "I'm not going to play your games. I'm not a naive teenage girl anymore. I worked hard to wash myself of you. I'm a different person now."

"Not so different, I think." Cinder maintained her steady tone and tempo. "You lied to your girlfriend without hesitation, after all." Ruby didn't have a reply for that. "See? Oh, I wonder what would happen if I spilled your little secret…"

"Weiss won't care." Ruby shot quickly. "She'll let me explain. She'll understand it's my past, and that I've put it past."

"Then why won't you tell her? Don't bother answering. I wasn't talking about your girlfriend anyways…" Cinder stepped closer to Ruby, who took a step back from her. "I wonder how her father will react to his daughter dating a… what do they call it? Degenerate Junkie? The Schnee name is powerful… I doubt he would allow Weiss to stay with you. He would find some way to tear you two apart…"

Ruby's fists tightened. She wanted nothing more than to sucker-punch this bitch. But this bitch had a good point.  _If Mr. Schnee were to find out, I would never see Weiss again._ If anyone had the proper blackmail on that time of her life, it would be her companion for it, Cinder Fall. And Cinder Fall didn't give empty threats.

"Don't forget the note." Cinder smirked. "We wouldn't want Weiss to get suspicious. I'll be waiting outside."

Ruby cursed herself. What could she do? The only answer that allowed her to keep Weiss was to write the note and follow Cinder.  _If I can deal with this quickly and get Cinder off my back, then I can tell Weiss everything. She'll forgive me… I hope…_

Cinder waited outside and smiled as she watched Ruby approach. "So what do you want from me?" the redhead asked.

"Just a little help." Cinder answered. "We need a fourth person, and you're perfect."

"A fourth person?"

"Just a little job to line our pockets. We need a fast pickpocket, and you're the fastest one I know."

Ruby frowned. All the stalking and tormenting Cinder had been doing seemed a little much for a simple job. _What else are you planning?_

"What's the job?" Ruby asked.

"We're going to dance, darling. And take a few keycards in the process, which will get us into a lockbox with enough cash to last us a few months." Cinder explained

"Dance? On top of everything else, you are going to make me wear a dress? No way."

"Either I see you in a dress helping, or daddy Schnee gets to see you with a needle in your arm. It's up to you." Cinder threatened.

Ruby hated herself right now. Just twenty minutes ago, she was ready to plan a massive date night with the love of her life. In twenty minutes, she had been blackmailed back into Cinder's employ, forced to do this job, and likely would end up doing nothing special with Weiss tomorrow.  _It's just for the one job, though. It has to be, there's no reason to keep me around any longer than that. Just push through it, Ruby. Just push through it…_


	6. Blackmailed

Ruby wasn't sure how Cinder got herself and Ruby an invitation to the high end ball they would be attending, but she was sure she didn't want to know. She just wanted this night to be over with so she could return to Beacon, to Weiss. Weiss, who she just kept lying to… her thoughts came full circle, back to sadness once more as she changed into her outfit for the event. The bright red dress was accompanied by a black sash and black flats.  _At least Cinder's not trying to make me wear heels…_  the small thought brought some comfort.

Ruby emerged from the changing room to see Cinder dressed similarly, in a black dress with red sash and flats. Ruby frowned, not liking the whole 'matching outfit' thing at all.

"Ahp, ahp." Cinder held up a hand to stop Ruby from walking too far ahead. "Why are you still wearing that thing?" she pointed to the compression sleeve.

"You  _know_  what's under there." Ruby deadpanned.

"You  _know_  there's this little thing called 'makeup', right?" Cinder shot back, tired of Ruby's hostile tone. "You also realize I hold your entire happy relationship on the line? A few keystrokes is all I need, everything is prepared."

Ruby swallowed her response. Making the one girl who could tear her new life down angry was  _not_  a good idea. Neither was following her lead and helping her steal hundreds of dollars, but this way she kept Weiss.  _Because she'll be_ real _happy to hear I've committed a crime in the name of preserving our relationship…_  The redhead shook the dark thoughts from her mind.

Cinder put her smile back on and held out the crook of her arm for Ruby to take, which the redhead did reluctantly. It didn't take them long to get to the ball, they literally changed across the street from it. Cinder flashed her 'invite plus one' at the door man as the pair stepped inside.

The ballroom was absolutely magnificent. Ruby couldn't stop herself from thinking of Weiss, as she imagined the rich girl knew these kinds of affairs quite well. The people were a little overwhelming, but Ruby only needed to bother with two of them. She spotted her targets quickly. A man with a thick, grand mustache who appeared a little full of himself, and a man with so much energy the redhead was sure his green hair was windblown into its styling.

"Peter Port." Cinder began, pointing Port out.

"And Bartholomew Oobleck." Ruby finished, staring down the green haired man. Now all she had to do was get a dance with each of them… Before Ruby could come up with a plan for it, Cinder gripped her hands tight and swept her onto the dance floor. Cinder kept a unique dance style that kept them uncomfortably close, even during the faster songs. At least, Ruby found it uncomfortable. No matter how much amber eyes begged, she couldn't manage to return Cinder's smile, even falsely.

"Cheer up, Bright Eyes. It is a party, after all." Cinder coaxed.

"Don't call me that." Ruby stated. "Please." She tacked on in an effort to not sound hostile.

"You're no fun tonight." Cinder played at being sad.

"Sorry to disappoint." Ruby was happy to see an opportunity to get to Port. Tearing herself away from Cinder and her remarks, Ruby stepped into the mustachioed man's personal space and took him into a short dance before he could react.

"Now what's a lovely lady like you stealing men on the dance floor for?" he asked as he stepped to the music.

"I am lovely, but hardly a lady." Ruby responded, falling into the role she chose. She hated how much that role emulated Cinder. But she had to get the job done.

"Now that is something you can always change." Port announced proudly. "It's not hard to turn your life around."

The urge to roll her eyes was almost too much for Ruby to bear. Was he really trying to set her on the 'right path' here and now? "I think it's a little late to make up for my sins. But the time is always right to add a few." Ruby closed what little distance was left between them seductively, swiping the keycard in the process.  _Success. One step closer._

Port pushed Ruby off, just as the redhead hoped he would. "I think it's time you took your leave, young woman."

Ruby found herself swept back into Cinder's arms as the older woman took the keycard off the younger's hands. "Well played. You haven't lost your edge."

"You already knew that." Ruby accused.

"Whatever do you mean?" Cinder feigned innocence. Innocence didn't suit her.

"The syringe, the little boy, the meeting in the park. You weren't just tormenting me, were you? You were testing me." Ruby presented.

"How astute." Cinder smiled. "I suppose that's the mind that can get into Beacon with only a GED. How did you know the boy was mine?"

"Once I knew the syringe was yours, everything fell into place. He was using the pick pocketing method  _I_  invented, hug and all. You can't be much more on the nose than that." Ruby answered. She saw her chance to get at Oobleck and returned barely a minute later after a bit of dancing and a conversation similar to Port's. She presented Cinder with the second card and the girls made their way off the dance floor.

They met Emerald and Mercury by the hors d'oeuvres. It wasn't much of a guess that they were the other two in on this plan. They were always with Cinder. She 'cared' for them after all. 'Care', of course, means supplying them with a bed, junk food, and most importantly, plenty of Dust. In return they followed her blindly. What truly motivated the vicious girl was a mystery, perhaps even to herself.

"Look who it is, Em." Mercury teased his partner before turning to Ruby. "You came after all."

"It's not like I had much choice." Ruby couldn't keep herself from saying.

"Told you it would take the blackmail." Emerald shot back at her partner and held out her hand.

"Aw man, I was going to use this for lunch…" Mercury reluctantly handed over a ten dollar bill.

Cinder handed the duo the keycards Ruby swiped. "You know what to do." The pair nodded and walked away.

"So what now?" Ruby asked. Her part was over, of that she was sure.

"Now, we dance." Cinder told her with her trademark smirk.

Ruby was about to go off on the older girl, but held her tongue. She was starting to fear that the blackmail leash would never be removed. As the pair swept onto the dance floor, her thoughts drew back to girlfriend she left at Beacon. What was Cinder planning? What would it mean or them? Ruby had already lied enough, and with each new fib her fear of losing Weiss's trust forever only grew.

* * *

Ruby was sitting in the passenger seat of a car she doubted was truly in Cinder's name. Mercury and Emerald were in the backseats, holding the money they just stole. Cinder herself was driving, and Ruby's growing fear of just how long Cinder would keep the blackmail over her head kept her mouth firmly shut.

Eventually they stopped outside of a familiar haunt. One of Cinder's favorite 'safe houses', and one she used often. The group exited the vehicle, Ruby included. The redhead figured the best thing she could do was simply follow her companions lead.  _What is it about blackmail that makes everything so easy for the manipulator?_

The inside was just as Ruby remembered. There was a small living area with a mess of sleeping bags in the corner and an unused kitchen off to the side. Cinder got the bedroom and master bath to herself, while anyone else staying at the moment had to share the second bathroom. Though it wasn't often anyone but Mercury and Emerald stayed here, at least not back when Ruby was still with them. It seemed empty of any other living soul today as well.

Ruby spent the whole car ride formulating her words and risked speaking now. "Why am I still here? Aren't you done with me now?"

"I have a present for you, Ruby." Cinder told her, brushing off the question. Ruby was confused. What could Cinder want to give her? Her question was answered as Cinder presented her with a large vial of crushed blue crystals. Dust. A month's supply at least, even by Ruby's former high dosing standard. "Blue. Your favorite."

"No…" Ruby's eyes went wide and she took a step back. "No… no, no, no, Cinder, I can't. I'm over it, it's behind me. I am  _not_  going to do that again!"

"You miss it. I can tell. I can see it in your eyes." Cinder teased.

Ruby wasn't going to admit to herself the truth of that statement. "I don't. I've moved on."

"To a girlfriend who knows nothing of this? Who has a father who can never find out?" Cinder pressed, reminding Ruby of the blackmail against her.

Ruby was trapped. Cinder was going to make her do it, make her dose… it was either that or lose Weiss. "Why?" Ruby asked, her voice shaking.

"Would you believe I missed you, Bright Eyes?" Cinder replied. Ruby gave her a blank stare and she laughed. "Oh well, believe me or not. Take your gift."

Ruby took the vial in her hands that were just as shaky as her voice. It was the first time she had held the substance in three years. Even at a museum field trip for her make-up school she refused to touch the large Dust chunk that was passed around for the class to see. She saw a glass with a small amount of water and a syringe on a nearby. It was obvious that Cinder wanted her to dose here and now. She had prepared.

Cinder saw how much Ruby was shaking and took the vial back. "Poor thing, you can't do anything like  _that._  I'll do it for you. Just like the first time, remember?"

_How can I forget?_  21 year old Ruby Rose closed her eyes as Cinder sat her down on a folding chair she set next to the table…

…15 year old Ruby Rose opened her eyes and felt the tears stream out. It had been three months since her mom died. She had only seen her dad five times since then, and spoken to him only two of those times. She had tried talking to Yang about bringing dad back somehow, but the older sister waved her off with the whiskey bottle she had already drained. "What can a 15 year old little girl know?" She had said.  _You're only two years older than me, Yang! Am I the only one trying to hold us together!? Mom would have wanted us to stay a family!_

_Mom…_

Ruby's tears flowed. All she could think of was the funeral. Of her mother's broken body on the street. Of the fact she was gone forever. Ruby had even forgotten what her cookies smelled like. Summer's death haunted the girl's mind, shutting all else out. Her mom was dead, her dad was all but missing, and the last time Yang was sober was three weeks ago.

"AAARRGHHH!" Ruby kicked at a passing puddle from the recent rain. The massive splash and release of energy may have been satisfying, if the clumsy girl had not kicked her own foot out from under her in the process. With both feet in the air, the young girl landed hard on her behind. Instead of standing back up, Ruby leaned against a nearby wall and drew her knees up. She wept into them. How did everything go so wrong, so quickly?

"You look like you can use a pick me up." A smooth voice spoke out. She raised her eyes to look at the girl she would come to know as Cinder Fall. Ruby's eyes dropped to the yellow substance Cinder had in a small vial.

"What do you mean?" The as-yet-innocent girl queried.

Cinder smirked. 15 year old Ruby couldn't place the intent behind the smirk. 21 year old Ruby now knew it was ill in nature. "Let me show you." The older girl said.

She set up the injection with the yellow Dust and took Ruby's arm. Ruby, innocent and ignorant, watched on as Cinder spent the contents of the syringe into the redhead's vein. Ruby felt the thick-warm liquid spread. It was uncomfortable, but soon she felt it. Suddenly, her sadness was slipping away. The first coherent thought she had during her first high was remembering the smell of her mother's cookies.

Ruby's eyes brightened with happiness, shining bright to Cinder. "Feeling better, Bright Eyes?" instead of answering with words, the girl rose to her feet and jumped and splashed around, having the most fun in… well, ever, it seemed. Cinder smiled as she watched the girl. Her energy was something she could really get used to…

Soon, though, the high passed. Ruby came back down, and though she could still remember her mother's cookies, she could still only think of the casket. She absent mindedly rubbed the spot where the liquid was injected, hoping to somehow push more in. "Can… can I have some more?" Ruby eventually asked of her new companion.

"The first taste was free, but if you want more, I need something from you." Cinder told her, setting her trap.

"I don't have any money…" Ruby responded.

"I'm sure we could figure something out." Cinder offered. Maybe this girl could be useful. She was certainly cute.

Ruby may have been a little less-than-world-weary, but she wasn't stupid. At this point she had known what happened and what this girl was doing, even if she couldn't identify the drug. But how could something that felt so good be so bad? One day she would find out, but that day she was clueless. "What do I have to do?"

Cinder smirked as the young girl fell right in to her trap. "Follow me." It was both an answer and an order, as Ruby would soon find out. "My name is Cinder. What about you, Bright Eyes?"

"Ruby." She answered.

21 year old Ruby was brought out the memory by the now familiar sensation of the needle entering her arm and the liquid making its way into her system. Cinder may have had the angelic voice perfected, but Lucifer was once God's favorite. These thoughts, however, soon slipped away. Ruby's eyes slowly brightened with cheer as the high came into form and took over her mind. She looked at the people around her with new perspective.

"Em! Merc!" She smiled. The Dust pushed all the negative thoughts and unhappy memories alluding to the pair away. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she was still aware. She just didn't care. She was with them now, and she was happy. A weight shifted onto her lap. Cinder slid into place on it, setting her arms into place around the back of Ruby's neck. "Cin."

Cider Fall started to feel her own high, dosing herself moments after Ruby. She looked into the younger girl's eyes and smiled. "Welcome back, Bright Eyes." Cinder punctuated the remark with a kiss.


	7. The Morning After

Ruby woke the next morning on one of the sleeping bags in the front room. She was still high when she passed out, and just what happened had yet to hit her. It wasn't until she scratched her right arm that she realized why it was itching. Her eyes widened as she spotted the fresh red spot from last night. She choked back tears as she finally comprehended what she had done. Perhaps Cinder made her do it, but she could no longer deny to herself that a part of her missed it… a part that was larger than she feared…

The theme from Snow White sounded from her phone.  _If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all…_  Ruby grimaced as she recognized the ringtone she set solely for Weiss. She cleared her throat before answering so her voice would be clear and steady. "Hey Weiss!"

"Ruby! I got your note, but you didn't come back last night. I was starting to worry… I've already called you twice."

Ruby's memory sparked as she realized the ringtone is what woke her up in the first place. She looked up to see it had woken Cinder as well, who emerged from the bedroom. "Sorry, Snow Angel. The project ran later than I thought. But I should be able to come back soon! Wait for me, 'kay?"

Cinder scowled as she heard this.

"Okay, see you then. I love you!" Weiss spoke, voice full of joy and relief.

"I love you too, Snow Angel." Ruby hung up and saw a fire in Cinder's eyes.

"I didn't say I would let you go anywhere." The Dust den-mother deadpanned.

Fear ran through Ruby's eyes for an instant, before being replaced with determination. "No. You're entire threat is based on destroying my relationship with Weiss, which entitles me to spend time with her. If I lose her because you're always stealing me away, you lose your leverage."

Cinder was at a loss for words for a moment. Her smirk soon returned. "Well played, Bright Eyes. Before you go, I want you to take something." Cinder returned to the bedroom and emerged a moment later with the large vial of blue Dust and a small black case. Ruby opened it after it was handed to her and saw a disassembled syringe, built so it could be cleaned and used repeatedly. The needle was just a high enough gauge for dosing Dust.

Ruby knew better than to press her luck and reluctantly pocketed the Dust and case. It would be easy to hide from Weiss. Ruby had the whole walk back to the dorms to formulate her plan for it. She changed back into her street clothes, put on her compression sleeve, and left the safe house. Cinder watched her leave.

"Why, Cinder?" Emerald asked, approaching her leader. "She left us. She didn't want this anymore…"

"I missed her." Cinder responded, hoping to placate her subordinate.

"But… Why? She's not the same." Emerald's voice picked up an octave. "Even back then, she was always one person too many. Aren't me and Merc good enough? Aren't I good enough!?"

Cinder turned. "Is that jealousy I hear? Emerald, honey… you're just not my type. We've been over this."

"You said you would think about it…" Emerald sounded defeated.

"I'm sorry you feel under-appreciated." Cinder assured her, despite it being a lie. She hardly cared for her on a personal level. Emerald was a tool. Ruby was a fighter, though. Even before, Bright Eyes had a fire that was hard to replicate.

Emerald missed the truth though, only hearing what was said out loud. She turned back to her sleeping bag and set up a large dose. She needed one after being turned down by Cinder again.

* * *

Ruby stood outside the door to the dorm she shared with her girlfriend. She was unsure how to proceed. She already had a plan for the syringe and Dust, that wasn't what was bothering her. How can she proceed with Weiss? The whole reason she was complying with Cinder was to keep Weiss…  _I could use a dose to cheer me up…_  Ruby reeled in shock at herself.  _WHAT AM I THINKING! I can't be thinking like that!_

Ruby shoved the thought down and wrenched the door open before she could give in and run to the bathroom to dose. She would fight this. With every ounce of her being, she would not give in. Once Cinder was bored with her, she could be free. Maybe Weiss could forgive her then… Ruby could only hope.

Weiss smiled at her arrival. "Welcome home, Ruby! How's that project?"

"Unfinished. I may have to go back at some point." Ruby told her, providing herself a cover for whenever Cinder inevitably called on her.

"That's disappointing… I hate how college finds a way to rob us of all our free time." Weiss lamented.

"Well… today's free for both of us, right?" Ruby took advantage of Weiss's staring out the window to quickly shove the contraband in her chosen hiding place.

Weiss turned and smiled. "You're right. Do you have a plan?"

"I was going to make one…" Ruby admitted. "But the project interrupted my thinking time."

"Well, I'm sure we can think of something on the road. Let's go." Weiss took her girlfriends hand. Ruby could almost trick herself into thinking last night didn't happen. Almost. At least being with Weiss made her happy. Maybe avoiding Dust outside of Cinder's calls would turn out to be easier than she thought.  _One can only hope._

* * *

Ruby was still laughing over the movie they watched as they were seated for dinner. Weiss was less than amused, given it wasn't actually a comedy. She had chosen a horror movie because she knew they didn't affect her. She had hoped Ruby's childishness extended to gripping onto something tight during a horror movie, preferably Weiss herself. But the girl only spent the whole movie laughing at how absolutely cheesy and cliché ridden it was.

It didn't help that Weiss accidentally outed herself in the car after the movie. Ruby got a kick out of that too, and a few more teases.

"After watching Pulp Fiction with you, I really should have seen that coming. Next time we're watching a RomCom."

Ruby stopped laughing immediately and her eyes went wide. "Please, god, no! Those are soooo boring!" Ruby pleaded. "You thought what we just watched was full of stupid clichés? Every RomCom I've ever seen has  _every_  RomCom Cliché!"

Weiss smirked. "Definitely watching a RomCom now."

Ruby struggled for a response and smiled. "How about a compromise? The Princess Bride!"

"The what now?" Weiss asked.

Ruby's jaw dropped. "Good lord, you have lived a cinematically sheltered life…"

Weiss dismissed the curious remark as their food arrived. Ruby was beyond happy that today turned out as normal as it did. She hadn't even felt an urge to dose since she first returned to the dorm. The couple ate in comfortable silence. It was unfortunately interrupted by Weiss's phone going off. "My father wishes to see me… something about the future of the company. I'm sorry, I have to do it… I can drop you off at the dorm as I head to the penthouse. I'd invite you to tag along, but you and father get on like water and oil…"

"Yeah, today has been a good day… I'd rather not ruin it." Ruby agreed, disappointed their day was cut short. Weiss paid for the meal before Ruby could stop her (just like the movie tickets) and the pair took off.

Weiss bid Ruby farewell with a kiss as she dropped her off in the college parking lot. The redhead solemnly watched the white convertible pull away. Her right arm started itching again as she made her way back to the dorm room. Halfway back she encountered Yang and Blake.

"Hey Rubes! It's been a while since we hung out! How's the ice queen treating you?" Yang shouted out.

"We're doing good!" Ruby smiled, glad for the distraction. "I think it's true to say she's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Have you told her about 'you know what' yet?" Yang asked.

Ruby stiffened, rubbing her arm nervously. "Well… no…"

"Ruby..." Blake shook her head. "I won't say anything because I agree  _you_  have to tell her. But at the same time, you  _have_  to tell her. Soon."

"I know…"  _But I've lied to her so much already… it's worse than you know…_  "I'm going to go back to my room. I have some homework to finish."

"Aw man, we haven't hung out in forever... Love ya, Rubes!" Yang waved and walked away with Blake.

Ruby returned the gesture and finished her walk back to the dorm room. The thoughts Yang accidentally instilled in her weighed heavily on her mind. She couldn't tell Weiss, not after dosing again… not until she found a way to be free of Cinder so she could stop…

She picked up the contraband from its temporary hiding place and set to work building a small secret compartment for it. After twenty minutes, her underwear and sock drawer had a false bottom that could only be opened from underneath with a straightened paperclip or something similar. She was about to put the items away in their new home, but hesitated. Cinder wouldn't have given the Dust to her if she wasn't expecting her to take it. She wasn't trying to help Ruby break the bad habit after all… that thought alone should have been enough to stop her, but…

She was lying to Weiss almost non-stop. She just lied to Yang. She helped Cinder steal. And she admitted to herself she missed the feeling… Each thought brought her deeper and deeper down, until she couldn't stop herself. She didn't want to feel this sadness…  _maybe Cinder is right… maybe I haven't changed as much as I thought…_

Ruby texted Weiss, asking her how much longer she would be.

'It's going to be a few hours. I won't bore you with details, but it might be after dark before I return. I'm sorry. I love you.'

'I love you too. See you when I see you.' Ruby messaged back. She took the Dust and syringe case into the bathroom and locked herself in. She decided to use the Listerine cap, rinsing it clean and filling it with hot water. Ruby poured some dust into it and assembled the syringe as it dissolved. It didn't take as long to figure out as she thought. The injection was soon ready, enough to last Ruby and hour and a half, maybe two depending on if she lost any tolerance in the three years she abandoned the drug.

Ruby experienced one final moment of hesitation and the needle-point lingered above her bare right arm. As if her body was set to automatic, she smoothly ran through the actions she had done hundreds of time before. The warm liquid filled her veins, and soon her mind.

* * *

Weiss couldn't have gotten out of that 'meeting' sooner. They did spend a good amount of the hour or two working out kinks in the company plan, but her father kept making veiled remarks regarding her girlfriend. When they got into an argument over their opposition to the Dust Regulations Act, Weiss decided to call the meeting short. If she accidentally outed Ruby's secret to her father not only would he find some way to take her girlfriend away, she would undoubtedly cause friction between Ruby and Yang.

Weiss was all but racing down the highway, hoping to return to her adorkable dolt as soon as possible. She smiled as the image of Ruby, all happy and energetic, crossed her mind. She still wasn't entirely sure how it happened, but she really loved that girl. Before too long she was parking the convertible in its reserved space, thankfully without having attracted police attention. Her smile widened little by little as she got closer to the dorm, to Ruby.

She arrived and heard Ruby speaking through the dorm door. It took a moment of listening closely to realize she was reciting whatever movie she was currently watching word-perfect. Ruby's reciting was interrupted by a bout of laughter over whatever happened on screen. Weiss's smile grew further as she opened the door and announced her presence, in too good of a mood to pass up a "Honey, I'm home!"

Ruby spun around and jumped over the back of the couch, hug-attacking Weiss. "Weiss! I thought you were going to be longer? I'm so glad you're back! I was watching Princess Bride- oh you haven't seen it! I'm restarting it, sit with me!"

Weiss did as she was asked, her smile erupting into a full open-mouthed giggle fit. This was just what she needed after a dinner with her father. Ruby was a furious ball of happy energy, restarting the disk and spinning to face her girlfriend on the couch. Spinning a little too quickly, Ruby accidentally spun herself out and fell, landing on top of Weiss instead of beside her. Before Ruby could jump up and apologize over her klutz moment, Weiss wrapped her arms around the girl and held her firmly in place.

Ruby finally managed to keep herself still, not wanting to leave Weiss's warmth. The couple silently enjoyed the movie. It was very different from Pulp Fiction, Weiss noted. Ruby had an impressive cinematic range. Weiss wondered what else Ruby watched that she would enjoy as well. As the movie played, the energy from the girl in Weiss's arms shifted gradually. It wasn't until the finale that the rich girl realized Ruby was no longer bouncy and smiley.

Looking down, Weiss saw Ruby softly breathing with her eyes closed.  _She looks cute when she's asleep… who am I kidding, she's always cute._  Weiss finished out the movie and carried Ruby to her bed. She managed to get them both under the covers without waking up the redhead. With a peck to her girlfriend's forehead, Weiss cuddled into her and let sleep take her.

Once Weiss's soft snores began, Ruby slowly opened her eyes. That was a close one… Weiss had come back sooner than anticipated, and Ruby overestimated her tolerance. She was still high when she began watching the movie with Weiss. Instead of risking letting Weiss notice her shift in mood, the redhead pretended to be asleep. She turned over so her back was facing Weiss and the floodgates opened. She wept into the pillow as she held her arm tight, almost wincing from the grip. It was still sore from her recent injections. A painful reminder of her sins.  _I'm so sorry, Weiss…_


	8. The Descent

Weiss woke up and noted that Ruby wasn't with her. The redhead's pillowcase also looked like it had been changed. Weiss heard the shower running and her groggy mind slowly understood Ruby must have woken up early and decided to take a morning shower.

Ruby emerged fully dressed, looking clean but less-than-refreshed. "Are you alright, Ruby? You look tired…"  _The morning shower, the changed pillowcase, the apparent exhaustion…_  "Are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep very well…" Ruby admitted.

"You looked fine after the movie?" Weiss told her.

"I started having bad dreams. The first one must have started after you passed out." The lie slid off her tongue easily. She in fact hadn't slept at all.

"You want to take the day off? I can tell the professors you're sick. Well, the arithmetic professor, at least." Weiss offered.

Ruby shook her head. If she spent all day alone with these thoughts, she was sure she would dose again. "I'll be fine. Gotta prove my worth, right? It really wasn't easy to get in here with just a GED."

"If you say so. Just promise me if you start to feel sick, you'll call it a day?" Weiss pleaded her girlfriend with concern in her blue eyes.

"Of course! I'm not that dolt-ish…" Ruby wore a weak smile. "Is that a word?"

"It might as well be now, I doubt that's the only time you'll use it." Weiss replied, her own smile strong.

The day proceeded normally for Weiss. She only shared one class with Ruby, which she actually found lucky. It was hard to concentrate in arithmetic, and Weiss was sure a certain bubbly redhead was instrumental in that little fact. On the flip-side, her more business oriented classes were so incredibly boring. If she didn't need the credits to one day take over the company officially, she would drop them. She already knew everything they had tried to teach her anyways, at least so far.

Weiss was happy when she walked through the doors to the arithmetic class. She would get to sit with Ruby, and the pair would go to lunch together. She scanned the room, looking for her girlfriend's dark red mop of a hairdo.  _Huh, she usually gets here before me… where is she?_  Weiss found two open seats and took one, expecting Ruby to slide in next to her at any moment. She watched the doors so she could catch Ruby as she entered.

Unfortunately, the seat beside her was suddenly taken by someone with blue hair and a cocky grin. Worse yet was how he looked at Weiss. She may have fell for that kind of trick before Ruby, but now she could only see how arrogant he was. "Hello, Snow Angel." He said smoothly.

"Don't call me that." Weiss warned. That was Ruby's name for her and no one else's.

"Come on, Ice Queen. I've noticed you around. I think we can really go well together." His voice was like silk, or melted butter.

All his oozing charm only bounced of Weiss, however, because- "I'm already in a committed relationship."

"Your loss, sweetheart. Say, where's the little cutie that's always with you?" He asked.

Weiss nostrils flared at his insinuation to try his act on Ruby. She shifted her expression to a smirk. "She is rather cute, isn't she? My girlfriend?"

"Your girl-" The suave boy stumbled over his words. Understanding, embarrassment, and fear crossed his eyes all at once. "I think I'd better focus on the lesson…" He quietly deduced.

"You do that." Weiss told him with a smile. Unfortunately, he still didn't move. Weiss took a look around to see Ruby in the very back of the class, head in her arms. Was she asleep or upset?  _I should have tried harder to get her to rest in the dorm._  With a huff, Weiss turned to experience the most boring, and honestly a little sad and frustrating, arithmetic class she'd had all year.

* * *

Ruby hadn't gotten much better over the next few days. There were bursts of time where she seemed incredibly happy, and she never failed to smile around Weiss. However, the rich girl could see the sadness behind her girlfriend's silver eyes. There was a call to help there, but from what? Weiss didn't know. She organized a nice date for herself and Ruby, hoping to cheer the girl up and get her to open up a little.

She laid out Ruby's vest, the tie she 'stole' from Blake, and Weiss's personal favorite of her girlfriend's black button ups. When Ruby exited the bathroom from her shower a few minutes later, she was wearing the same smile that seemed stuck on her face lately. The smile that was genuine, but still masked her inner sadness, all at once. "Well, well, when did you get all 50's house wife and start laying out my clothes for me?" The redhead teased.

Weiss blushed at being called 'wife'. "I just want to take you somewhere nice. I figured getting your clothes for you would be faster."

"And it has nothing to do with that being your favorite of my shirts?" Ruby cocked an eyebrow.

Weiss flushed even redder. "How did you… I mean, I don't know what you're talking about…"

Ruby smiled and dressed out. "So how fancy are we talking about?"

"I said 'nice', not 'fancy'." Weiss told her.

"To me, Denny's is 'nice'. Your 'nice'  _is_  my 'fancy'." Ruby rebutted.

"Fair point…" Weiss conceded. "Pretty fancy then, I guess."

Ruby sighed. "When will it be my turn to treat you?"

"You treat me every day by being you." Weiss flirted.

Ruby turned as red as her namesake. "You know what I mean…" she grumbled.

"Well then, your answer is 'not tonight'." Weiss replied.

"I guess there is one real advantage to all that." Ruby stated. Weiss raised a curious eyebrow. "If my clumsiness breaks something, I doubt you would let the restaurant force me to do dishes until I pay for it." Weiss couldn't help but giggle lightly. Ruby was completely spot on.

"It would still be better if you didn't break anything in the first place." Weiss pointed out.

"I guess you're just gunna have to hold me tightly so I stay up." Ruby smirked.

By this point in their banter, both girls were ready to go. Ruby loved days like this, especially now. She was almost completely, genuinely happy, and without using Dust to do so. It was easy to fall back into their old routines.  _It's also too easy to inject a few lies wherever necessary…_  Ruby's smile was lost for just a fraction of a second. No matter how good the day, these dark thoughts always haunted her. They were a ghost stuck to her skin, just like the 5 fresh injection marks under the compression sleeve…

 _Four days since Cinder forced her way back into my life, and I've dosed seven times…_ Weiss noted one more time Ruby lost concentration and seemed distant. The redhead shook her head a few times and put a smile back on. "Let's go!"

* * *

"'Pretty fancy', Weiss? I'm pretty sure someone like me isn't legally allowed in places like this!"

The place the pair stood outside of was high end indeed. It was the sort of place where one spent $150 a course, and had to eat three of the tiny portions to get full. At least. Ruby may even need five to fill her enough to leave, and then she would order a pizza in a few hours.  _$750 to feed me here, by that estimate…_  "I told you not to go overboard in 'spoiling' me…" Ruby reminded her girlfriend.

"This isn't overboard." Weiss defended. "It's a dinner. Come on, the food is delicious."

"That I don't doubt, but the café is delicious too and twenty bucks feeds me there." Ruby countered.

"Shut up and let me do this. Please?" Weiss was now worried she really did go overboard.

Ruby let out a heavy sigh. "I did always want to see if these places were worth it…" she conceded. It didn't make Weiss feel any different about her sudden feeling of going overboard, but the decision was made. The couple was seated at a small table near the back. Ruby looked around. The place had a very 'modern' feel. The tables were metal, the walls were pitch white, and what little art hung on the walls was subtle. To Ruby, it felt cold, and not just in temperature.

Ruby couldn't understand the menu and Weiss ended up ordering for both of them, making Ruby feel embarrassed. Weiss felt right at home, but Ruby knew she didn't belong here herself. Weiss didn't miss her girlfriend's discomfort, and now fully regretted this decision. She really hadn't thought through how Ruby would take this kind of place on a good day.

"You know, it wouldn't be the first time I 'dine and ditched' a place like this. We could just skip the 'dine' and go straight to the 'ditch'." Weiss offered.

"You can afford these places, though?" Ruby raised a confused eyebrow.

"I had a little bit of a wild streak…" Weiss confessed. "The silver platter gets boring sometimes…"

Ruby smiled. "So let's trade it for a red basket. I know a place nearby."

The waiter returned to an empty table, and threw the food he was carrying to the ground in a rage…  _Why order art on a plate if you weren't going to stay and enjoy it? Bloody time-wasters…_

Weiss and Ruby were laughing as they bolted out of the back alley of the restaurant. Weiss couldn't believe she had just done that. "Do you think the waiter threw the food in a fit?" Weiss theorized.

"People don't do that it real life! It's far too cliché for anything other than a movie." Ruby responded.

"You would be surprised." Weiss told her.

They got into her car and Ruby directed her to a small chain diner. They stepped inside, and Weiss could feel the difference. The tables and walls were wood or at least wood-paneled. The lighting cast a bright orange glow, and comfortable conversation flowed freely. To Weiss, it felt warm, and not just the temperature. "I like it."

Ruby smiled at Weiss's remark. The pair took up a corner booth. A few minutes later and Weiss saw Ruby wasn't just being colorful with her words when she said 'red basket'. Their burgers and fries were served in a paper-lined basket. Weiss took one carefully bite and then nearly devoured the burger, making Ruby laugh. "Better than you thought, Snow Angel?"

"It is… I was afraid it would be far too greasy." Weiss told her.

Halfway through the meal, Weiss went to use the restroom. On her way back to the table, she saw Ruby frowning at her phone. "What is it?" Weiss asked.

Ruby jumped at her voice and quickly shoved her phone away. "Oh! Umm… I'm sorry… they need my help for that project…"

Weiss frowned. "I hate how college finds a way to take all of our free time… Will you be back tonight?"

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything…" Ruby told her despondently.

"Do you want me to drop you off?" Weiss asked.

"It's not that far, I'll be fine. Finish your food." Ruby placed two twenty dollar bills on the table. "My treat, for once." Before Weiss could argue Ruby drew her into a deep kiss. Weiss could feel the apology in it. And just like that, Ruby was gone.

Down the street Ruby pulled out her phone, looking over the message stream between her and Cinder.

_C: It's been too long since your last visit, Bright Eyes._

_R: I can't tonight. I'm on a date with Weiss. It's going well._

_C: But I miss you… Em and Merc too._

_R: Not tonight, please. I'll go tomorrow._

_C: Just a few keystrokes, Ruby…_

Ruby fought back tears as she typed out a new message.

_R: I'm across town. It will take me a while to walk there._

_C: Where are you? I'll pick you up._

Ruby had anticipated that response, which is why she waited a few blocks to respond. She sent the cross-streets to Cinder and the blackmailer pulled up in front of her three minutes later. Ruby entered the vehicle, her head hung low.

* * *

It was a month since the date Ruby had to bail on, and things were only getting worse. Weiss saw her girlfriend becoming more withdrawn. Last night she had returned to the dorm after Ruby already tucked in for the night. This happened from time to time, and Weiss would usually just crawl into bed with her. There were a couple times it was the other way around too, where Weiss fell asleep before Ruby returned and awoke to find the redhead in her arms.

Except this time Ruby was fast asleep in her own bed, on the left. Ever since the first night they started sharing a bed, they always used Weiss's on the right, even when Ruby passed out before the rich girl returned. Weiss felt it was somehow a sign that for whatever reason Ruby didn't want to sleep together that night. Weiss frowned and complied reluctantly.

Unbeknownst to her girlfriend, Ruby was only pretending to be asleep at this moment. It was easy to keep from sobbing and convulsing after she had already cried her eyes dry. She ran her hand over her arm.  _Am I in the 50s? Or 60s? I've already lost count…_  The countless splotches on her arm were a bright red reminder that she was falling again, and falling fast. She could already feel herself depending solely on Dust for any happiness at all.

The worst part was she was out of Dust. She could already feel the worst of the withdrawal symptoms on the horizon, a total loss of emotions. She would be like a mindless robot until her next dose, or until her system corrected itself, whichever came first. She needed more. And she hated herself for it. She curled up into her bed on the right and let it all come out, hoping Weiss wouldn't join her that night.

At some point, Ruby must have actually managed to fall asleep. It was suddenly noon the next day and she was being woken by Weiss. "Hey, honey… you okay?"

"Yeah." Ruby answered, slowly sitting up but keeping her eyes on the floor.

"Well, for the first time in a month we both have the whole day off." Weiss informed her. "I let you sleep in a little, but you can't sleep all day. Besides, I want to do something."

Ruby thought to her empty vial. "I don't think I can today, actually." Ruby told her in monotone.

"Is it that stupid project? What are you even working on?" Weiss's words were almost hostile, but her tone betrayed her sadness. "It's taken you from me four times, five now. Just how big is it? I miss spending time with my girlfriend…"

Ruby looked up. Dull gray eyes met sorrowful blue ones. In an instant, Ruby realized it was already over. She could keep up the act, but now she had lied too much. Even if she came clean here and now, she doubted their relationship could survive. She could pretend this could still work, but one day her lies would come crashing down and that ending would be even worse.

Weiss's eyes changed from sorrow to concern. "Ruby, what's the matter?" The redhead thought she had no more tears left after last night, but her blurred vision and the wetness on her cheeks proved her wrong.

Ruby realized two things. One, she had played right into Cinder's hands. There was just no way Weiss would ever trust her again after she learned of all the lies… Maybe if she had come clean before all this, Weiss would have a different view of her, but as it stood Ruby wasn't a very good example of anything but 'degenerate junkie'.

The second thing she realized is that she couldn't lie to Weiss anymore. She was a wonderful person, she didn't deserve it. Ruby didn't deserve her. It was too little too late, but she just couldn't say another lie. Her tears intensified. "I'm so sorry, Weiss…"

"Sorry?" Weiss went to hug her girlfriend close, try to comfort her. But Ruby only shrunk away from her.

"Weiss, I'm so sorry… I don't… I can't… I've been… I've…" Ruby choked on both her tears and her words. "I'm so sorry!" She shouted one last time before sprinting out the door. It wasn't the first time the clumsy girl's speed surprised Weiss. She tried chasing after her, but Ruby was already out of sight by the time she made it outside.

Already nearly three blocks away, Ruby knew it was all over. How many of her 50-plus doses can she really blame on Cinder? She had promised her family, promised herself, that she would never do that stuff again. She couldn't face her father, or Raven, or Yang. She definitely couldn't face Weiss. There was no one she could even run to, except…

Before she could finish her thought, she tripped over her feet and tumbled. Five blocks away from Beacon campus now, Ruby stood, shaken, dirty, scraped up and bleeding. She limped her way to the one place she knew she could go, where she would have a roof and a mat to sleep on. It took her twenty minutes, but she was now knocking on the door. Cinder opened it and took in the sight of a girl broken both physically and mentally.

Cinder smiled. It seemed her ultimate plan worked. It had finally gotten to be too much for Ruby. The weight of her own sins sent her right to Cinder's waiting arms. Stepping to the side, the manipulator bid Ruby inside. "Come on in, Bright Eyes. We'll fix you right up, give you everything you need."

 _Everything including Dust,_  Ruby caught herself hoping.


	9. The Runaway Rose

"You aren't going to get me this time, Merc!' Ruby shouted, mashing the buttons on her controller.

"You could never beat me before, Rube! What makes you think you'll be any better three years out of practice?" He teased, effortlessly guiding his character through devastating combos.

"K.O!" the game announced as Ruby's fighter fell.

"Noooo! You have betrayed me!" the redhead shouted at her character.

Emerald watched the scene in disbelief. Being between doses, her brain could fully register just how real it was that Ruby was back after three years. Cinder was right, as always. In the end, they got Bright Eyes back. Emerald admired Cinder for many reasons, and her intelligence was a big one of them. Unfortunately, Cinder would never have eyes for her with Ruby around again… the green haired doser set up another large dose for herself.

Cinder smiled as her favorite ward demanded a rematch. Her silver eyes were focused on finally beating Mercury at the fighting game. Cinder herself had other things to take care of if she wanted to keep her 'family' swimming in Dust, especially now that Bright Eyes was back. Given recent events, Cinder wouldn't be surprised if she was going to hit the Dust even harder than before. Before leaving, she took a small dose herself to ensure she would enjoy the car ride out.

"K.O!"

"Gaahhh!" Ruby could feel rage coming, which meant her high was close to over. Decisions, decisions… dose now, or try and beat Mercury again?

"Giving up yet?" Mercury goaded, giving Ruby her answer.

Halfway through the fight, she realized it was a mistake. She cared less and less about the fight, her mind drifting to worrying about Weiss.  _How long will she wait before she realizes I'm not coming back? How long will it take her to go to Yang? How long will it take Yang to figure out what I have been doing for the past month?_

"K.O!"

Mercury looked over and saw Ruby scratching her arm with a sorrowful face. Unlike Ruby and Emerald, Mercury didn't start dosing to run from any sadness. He wasn't even high at this moment. He simply enjoyed the stuff. So what if it was addictive? So what if it got him living in hovels, working for some mysterious bitch? He just didn't give a fuck, plain and simple. And if it ever did get to him? Well, then he could just dose those feelings away. But that didn't mean he couldn't empathize with those who did dose for the escape.

"Character select?" He offered. It was the same offer he always made when slyly giving her a chance to take a Dust break.

"Yeah… I'll just be a minute." Ruby made her way to the kitchen to get the hot water necessary for her next action. Less than two minutes later she bounced back onto the controller and picked a character with a massive scythe, ready to duel. "You're going down, Merc. I can feel it!"

"We'll see, Rube." Mercury smiled. Part of him did miss Ruby, or rather Bright Eyes, as Cinder referred to her.

"K.O!"

"Rematch!"

* * *

Weiss searched the whole campus, and it was soon clear that Ruby was running away from her.  _I'll just catch her in class tomorrow…_

Except Ruby wasn't in class. For the next three days, her adorkable redhead was MIA from arithmetic. Weiss knew Penny shared some of Ruby's other classes and found her at lunch on day three. "Friend Weiss! Sal-u-tations!" the girl greeted robotically.

"Hello, Penny? How has Ruby been? I haven't seen her for a few days… I think she's avoiding me for some reason…"

"I haven't seen Friend Ruby for a few days either." Penny admitted.

"Not even in class?" Weiss pressed, her worry rising.

"Nope! I assumed she was sick. Could she have run away?" Penny theorized.

"I don't see any reason for her too… what class has the massive group project? Ruby's been working on one for month now." Weiss asked the strange one.

"Group project? None of Ruby's classes have a group project." Penny replied.

"No, she's been vanishing on and off to go work on it." Weiss informed her.

Penny thought things over again. "I'm positive there are no group projects in any of Ruby's classes. Perhaps you misheard her?"

"No… But she wouldn't lie to-" Weiss stopped short. Ruby  _had_  openly lied to her once.  _Once that I know of…_  the thought bothered Weiss beyond belief. "I'm going to go find her sister. I need to talk to her. Thank you for the information, Penny."

"Say hello from me when you find her, Friend Weiss!" Penny called put, waving goodbye.

Weiss found Yang outside with Blake and called her attention. "Yang, when's the last time you spoke to Ruby?"

"Why?" Yang asked. "What's up with her?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her for three days… I thought she was avoiding me, but apparently she hasn't been showing up for any of her classes, either." Weiss answered.

"Why would she be avoiding you?" Yang interrogated. "If you did anything-"

"I didn't! At least I don't think so… she just flipped a few mornings ago and ran out… Yang, has she said anything to you about a group project in one of her classes?"

"Ummm… I don't think she would have one." Yang told her. "Group projects aren't really a big thing in college."

Weiss hesitated with her next words. "She certainly wouldn't have a month-long group project… would she…?"

"A month-long college level group project? I'm pretty sure that would actually kill someone." Yang half-joked. "How did Ruby 'flip'?"

"She just kept apologizing to me, and then she ran out." Weiss explained. "And then there's that fact she's been using 'group project' as an excuse to disappear occasionally for the past month…"

Yang expression hardened. "Weiss, how has Ruby been acting lately? Start from a month ago. Tell me every detail." As Weiss told the story, Yang's frown progressively deepened.

"I don't like the sound of this…" Yang told her after she finished recounting. "I don't like the sound of this at all… Weiss, I think we need to search Ruby's stuff."

"For what?" Weiss asked, hoping it wasn't going to be what she feared it was.

"Something I really hope we don't find…" Yang answered cryptically.

* * *

Out on the streets across town, Ruby bumped into the fifth person in three minutes. It was also the fifth wallet she snatched. No one ever caught her pick-pocketing; she was a master of the craft. This particular wallet was loaded. Perhaps she could turn in for the day after only another wallet or two. She scratched her arm, feeling the small bumps from all her recent doses. She still had plenty of Dust, and she had a feeling Cinder wouldn't actually let her run dry if she returned empty handed, asking for more.

She didn't want to rely on Cinder in that way, though. It would surely lead to some kind of fucked up 'trading-favors' kind of relationship they were at by the time Ruby left the first time.  _Well, it's not like I'm saving myself for Weiss anymore… I've already reverted to this, why not go that extra step?_  A week ago, Ruby would have physically slapped herself for considering such a path.  _But I have a point, which is 'what is the point?' I've fucked the rest of my life up…_

Deciding she needed a dose now, Ruby made her way back to the safe house with a little less than she intended. She would make up the difference later. Take a little extra here and there before she needed a new vial. Now that she had returned, she had the right to enter the safe house like she owned the place. There was no guarantee that anyone would be there should she knock, after all. Everyone had their own tasks and desires outside in the world.

Everyone except her. All she wanted was here, a place to sleep and dose her problems away. And occasionally Cinder, if she followed through on her thoughts from earlier. The task of readying and injecting the warm blue fluid was so automatic Ruby hardly realized she had already dosed herself as her mind ran through these paths. She felt that special elation at the same time she was thinking of Cinder in that special way. It led to a very interesting decision from the cheery little 'Bright Eyes'.

When Cinder retuned from her daily tasks to find Bright Eyes ready and waiting on her bed, she was far from disappointed.

When Emerald returned from her hobby of window shopping at the jewelry store to hear what they were up to, she fixed herself up a competitor for her largest dose ever.

When Mercury returned from his hobby of window shopping at the strip club, he smirked, having seen this coming from a mile away.

Cinder only emerged an hour into it to retrieve more Dust, mainly for Ruby. Neither girl was seen for the rest of the afternoon, but they were well heard. Much to Emerald's dejection and Mercury's humor.

As the moon rose, Cinder pushed another dose into Ruby's arm. They had finished long ago, both much too tired for another round, even with the help of Dust. However, Cinder was dead on in her assumption that Ruby would be an even heavier hitter than before. It almost made her feel sorry for the poor girl. Almost. No, she rather much enjoyed having her here, and if Ruby wanted to be high 24/7 Cinder would gladly help her.

* * *

Yang and Weiss tore the dorm apart. They were looking for any clue at all, preferably one that didn't suggest a link to Dust. After nearly an hour, all of Ruby's things lay in a pile on her bed, her desk and dresser completely emptied.

"If Ruby had something she wanted to hide, where would she hide it?" Yang thought aloud.

"Either somewhere incredibly childish, like in her pillowcase or the back of her underwear drawer, or somewhere more intelligent and crazy that only she could figure." Weiss answered.

"That doesn't help… damn it Ruby!" Yang punched the dresser and froze as she heard something bounce around. But the drawers were empty? The blonde checked the drawers again, this time looking for anything even slightly out of the ordinary… like how the bottom of the top drawer sounded hollow when she knocked on it.

She investigated the drawer from every angle, eventually poking at something on the bottom. She held out her hand to Weiss. "Paperclip." Weiss grabbed one from her own desk and handed it to Yang, who straightened it out and pushed it into the bottom of the drawer. The inside bottom of the drawer proved to be a false one, revealing a secret compartment containing an empty glass tube and a black box.

Weiss picked up the tube. "Yang, what is this for?"

Yang didn't answer right away. The blonde slowly opened the little black case. "Oh no… Ruby… what the hell are you doing…?"

Weiss looked over Yang's shoulder at the disassembled syringe inside the black case. It was proof of everything they feared. "But she was over it… she was doing so well… why would she relapse?"

"I don't know Weiss…" Yang shut the case, a look of pure determination in her eye. "We'll just have to ask her when we find her."

* * *

Ruby woke that morning fully aware of everything she had done the night previous. She no longer cared. In fact, she found herself caring less and less about… well, everything. It was hard to get peppy about life when she ran out on the very best part of it to fall into this again.

"Good morning, Ruby." Cinder yawned as she stepped out of the bathroom. Ruby was about to stand and put her clothes on when Cinder interrupted her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Putting on my clothes?" Ruby answered.

"Putting on four day old clothes?" Cinder shook her head. "I know you've had a rough time, Bright Eyes, but you can't let your standards fall like that."

"I don't have any other clothes…" Ruby admitted.

"Well, I can't have my special girl falling into disrepair like that." Cinder began to think.

_'Special girl'? So that's how it is… by this point, I figured she had some kind of fucked up crush on me…_  "What… do you want me to do…?" Ruby asked meekly, accepting her new role. Not because she had no choice, but because she really didn't care anymore.

Cinder smiled. She didn't miss the implication in Ruby's reply. It also gave her an idea of what Bright Eyes could do. "Wear some of mine."

Ruby nodded and set about picking out an outfit for herself. Cinder was a little taller, but had a slightly smaller bust. The clothing fit well enough, but, "I still need my own clothing at some point."

It was a demonstration of why Cinder liked Ruby so much. Emerald would be boring, more than happy to be the perfect pet. But Ruby would maintain her own mind and self to the best of her abilities, even if she was following Cinder's commands. Even admitting herself to the den-mother's control, Ruby wouldn't become a mindless drone. "Then let's go shopping at some point. I think we'll have some money left over from this next job after 'purchases'. Speaking of which, don't dose just yet. I want everyone lucid for planning."

"Alright." Ruby nodded again.

Luckily Cinder managed to catch Mercury and Emerald before their morning doses and they were able to start the meeting right away. Ruby faded in and out. She listened well enough to get the gist of her part. By the time they did the gig, Ruby would know her duties. After the meeting broke up, Ruby had a question before she dosed. "When did you start doing so many heists?"

"This should be the last one for a while." Cinder answered. "I wanted to set us up for a nice vacation, just a little grace period where we don't have to steal, sell, or hustle."

"Well, here's hoping this last one goes smoothly." Ruby raised her newest syringe like a toast before injecting the liquid into her arm.

Cinder watched with vested interest. It was a fun little game she played to pinpoint the exact moment the Dust began affecting someone's mind. Playing this with Ruby's doses was easy, though. Her whole nickname was based on it. Ruby was always so down in the dumps it dulled her eyes to gray. As the Dust cleared away her negative thoughts, the gleam returned to make them silver again.

Bright Eyes looked over herself in the mirror. "Hmm… the colors are fun, but the style's just not 'me'"

Cinder draped her arm over the girl's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll soon remedy that."

Ruby smiled brightly "Sounds good, Cin. I'm gunna try beating Merc on the game today! I've been practicing!"

Cinder followed the ball of energy into the living room. Having nothing else to do, she might as well enjoy the show, even if she already knew how it was going to end.


	10. The Gala Event

Weiss wanted nothing more than to find her girlfriend. Unfortunately, she had no idea where to start. She and Yang attempted to brainstorm, but Ruby had told her family so little from her time with Cinder. "She wasn't even home that often when she was out there. She'd come back once or twice every couple of weeks, grab some clothes. I'm pretty sure she stole money from dad, too..." Yang had informed the rich girl.

It frustrated Weiss beyond belief. She was getting angrier and angrier as the weeks wore on, more and more scared that Ruby's relapse didn't have a legitimate reason. It had gotten to the point where her father could detect her sour mood the moment she stepped in his presence, having been called out to the penthouse. For a brief moment, Weiss considered asking for his help… but that would require telling him Ruby's secret, and her secret was just the fuel he was looking for to take Weiss away.

"What's the matter, dear?" he asked. Weiss rolled her eyes. He was genuinely concerned for her happiness whenever it didn't interfere with his plans.

"Nothing, father. Just a little… bumpy road stuff with Ruby." Weiss wasn't the liar her girlfriend apparently was, and had to settle for a half-truth.

"I see. It's never too late to reconsider your prospects." Her father not-so-subtly hinted.

"Ruby Rose isn't a 'prospect'. She's the woman I love." Weiss shot back. She may be pissed at Ruby, but she still hoped they could repair the relationship eventually. Weiss just had to figure out why Ruby was dosing again…

"Forgive me, that may have come across a bit harsh."

"May have?"

"Weiss, dear…" her father tuned to look her in the eye. "There's a charity gala tomorrow night. I was hoping you would be there, representing the SMC."

The rich girl crossed her arms. If she intended to take over the company some day, she couldn't say no… but Ruby… _What leads to you have, girl? You could use a night off from the search anyway… besides, you say no and father's going to want to know why._  "I would be happy to accept." Weiss finally answered.

"You have a plus-one…" Her father stated.

"I don't think Ruby will be joining me…" Weiss looked to the ground.

"My condolences." Mr. Schnee turned away and smiled. It sounded as though, perhaps, he didn't need to break the pair up somehow.

Weiss saw his face in the reflection of the window he stared out of. She stomped out of the penthouse and returned to her dorm as quickly as she could. Stepping through the door, she looked around half-hoping Ruby to magically appear and explain everything. But no, it was still empty.

She sat on the left hand bed. She had re-organized Ruby's belongings that were scattered in her and Yang's search a few nights before, and had slept on the redhead's bed since then. It didn't smell or feel like Ruby, but the black and red comforter was still comforting in more ways than physical warmth.

* * *

Ruby had changed into the same dress from the ball. Elegance was key in this affair… the charity gala was no simple party. The elite would be there, and would all their deep pockets. This wasn't pick-pocketing, however. The charity fund these socialites were giving into in a desperate attempt to appease their conscious was supposed to go to repairing bad neighborhoods.

Ruby knew there was something fundamentally wrong in stealing the fund, but by the end of the night in would be filled to 5 digits that started with an eight, by Cinder's calculations. They were living in bad neighborhoods anyway, weren't they? In a way, it was their money regardless. They were just 'accepting' it sooner.

The redhead approached the gala. This time, she needn't dance with Cinder. The den-mother was running operations from a van outside via radio contact. The girl was assured there would be no dancing anyway, just a lot of fancy people eating fancy food that Mercury better not leave his post to swipe. "But I'm hungry… Em keeps taking my lunch money." The silver-haired boy whined.

"It's not my fault you keep losing that money in stupid bets." Cinder scolded. "Pay attention to the job at hand, please? Are you in, Ruby?"

Ruby shook her head. She didn't want to hear the banter right now. She just wanted to get the job done. Operations like this required lucidity, and her arm was starting to itch. "Yeah, my 'invite' worked. I'm inside." She answered Cinder. The forged invite was terrible if you asked the redhead, but the guard must have been near-sighted or something.

The inside was bright and shiny.  _If they wanted to put money into bad neighborhoods, they should stop building dance halls with walls literally gilded with gold._ She frowned as she was once again reminded of Weiss. This was exactly the kind of place where the rich girl would feel right at home.  _I need to get her out of my head…_

The rich girl in question was currently looking over the crowd from closer to the stage. She was fulfilling her role of representative of the SMC wonderfully. She was only distracted once, when she thought she saw Ruby's hair bouncing around in the crowd. She did a quick double-take, looking for the sight again.  _Of course Ruby isn't here… why would she be? Focus, Weiss._

Ruby had slipped off into a hallway and looked over the security device for the restricted-access area. The servers would be beyond this wall. "So lovely we live in an era so technologically immersed." Mercury started as he approached. "The haughty class socialites don't even handle the bills themselves anymore, their phones do all the work or them." Mercury slid next to Ruby, looking over the device himself.

"Makes it all easier to steal, too. We just need to get this into the main server." Ruby held up a flash drive containing a program Cinder could use to re-direct the funds. "No keypad, just a card swipe. I guess they don't worry so much about a charity for the less-fortunate."

"It's the thought that counts right? 'I would have paid, but some assholes took all the money anyway'." Mercury mimicked a 'haughty class socialite' as he took and pocketed the drive.

Ruby sighed. "Let's get this over with. I'll find a card."

Weiss smiled and nodded to many things she didn't actually agree with. Her time with Ruby had certainly been transformative, and she knew when she  _did_  take over the company, there would be a lot of changes. But she wasn't representing her SMC, she was representing her father's SMC. It almost made her feel dirty.

She looked across the hall and saw red hair again. Her eyes laser focused on the sight, and her mouth fell open. "Ruby…" She whispered to herself.  _She is here… what is she doing here?_  Weiss was glad she was already finished meeting and greeting everyone around her at this moment. She politely excused herself and made her way to where she saw her missing girlfriend.

Ruby had easily found and swiped a card and handed it off to Mercury. She and Emerald then stood guard and different entrances, looking out for any guards entering the restricted area. "How you doing, Merc?" Ruby asked a few minutes into waiting.

"The server was easy to find, and the program should be done uploading soon." His voice came over her earpiece. "Easiest 80 grand we ever made. It's almost too easy."

"We already deduced the people don't really care about protecting the fund." Ruby responded. "Besides, A, who's gunna steal charity money and B, if they really cared, 80 grand is pocket change to just one of these guys."

"Good point." He answered.

Ruby saw sentient white out of the corner of her eye. She was harshly reminded that this was exactly the kind of place Weiss would feel comfortable at. She turned on her heel to leave. "I gotta ditch my post. I'm heading to the van." She whispered over the line.

"Why? What went wrong?" Mercury asked.

"Are you compromised?" Cinder's voice asked next.

"Ruby, wait!"

"…Weiss." Ruby whispered over the line, stopping in her tracks. She sensed the rich girl stop behind her.

"Don't, Ruby." Emerald warned. "Just ignore her and leave."

Ruby didn't want to though. She wanted to talk to her… her heart ached for the heiress. "Please…"

A sigh came over the line. "Be careful, Ruby." Cinder warned. "And don't take too long. I'm expecting you."

With permission to speak to Weiss, Ruby slowly turned back around to face her. Before the redhead could even open her mouth, Weiss was already speaking. "What happened, Ruby? Where have you been? I've been looking… I… I miss you."

"I'm sorry, Weiss…" Was all Ruby could manage.

"Sorry? For what?" The rich girl was starting to show her anger. "For running off? For lying?"

Ruby winced. "I'm sorry… I wanted to tell you about my past…"

"I know about your past." Weiss admitted. "Yang told me."

"When did Yang tell you?" Ruby asked.

"The morning after we first made love, at your family's house."

"I see…"

They were quiet for sometime before Weiss spoke again. "Ruby, Yang and I found your stash."

Ruby flinched again. Of course they did. If the blonde even suspected, she would find the truth. And there was likely plenty of reason to suspect. "I'm sorry…"

"Ruby, I need to know why. Why do this to yourself again? If you were doing so well, why did you relapse?" Weiss asked. She wasn't angry anymore. Ruby was very familiar with the emotion the rich girl displayed now. Sadness.

"I didn't want to… but… I was blackmailed. Into doing a job for some… former friends. Then, they used the blackmail to make me dose… Weiss, they were going to send proof of my past to your father… they were going to tear us apart…"

Weiss's eyes widened. Of all the possibilities that made her angry, she never considered blackmail as an option. Why would someone blackmail Ruby into relapsing? "Ruby, I'll fight to stay. I promise. Just come back, please…" The rich girl held out her hand.

"I… I can't" Ruby stepped back. "She's waiting for me…"

"She…? Who…?" Weiss stepped forward in time with Ruby.

"I think that's enough, Ruby." Cinder warned over the earpiece.

"Weiss, I didn't run because of the blackmail." Ruby spat out. "I ran because… I missed it… I was dosing again, nobody was shoving a needle in my arm… and I lied to you… I lied to you so much…" Ruby's eyes began to tear. She needed a dose soon. "I don't deserve you… "

"Ruby, you stopped once before." Weiss knew this was a tug of war with whoever had Ruby on a leash. She didn't want to lose. "You can stop again. We can get help."

"End it." Cinder's voice came over the line. It was final, and stopped any thought of returning. Even if Ruby did, Cinder would just release her blackmail.

_End it…_ Ruby tears flowed heavily. "I can't… I'm not even sure I want to… I'm just a degenerate junkie, Weiss. You deserve something much better than me."

"I love you!" Weiss shouted to Ruby's back as the redhead turned to walk away.

Ruby froze again, but didn't turn this time. "Don't say that now…"

"Why not?"

"Because… I won't be able to stop myself, because I know…"

There was another moment of silence. "I love you." Weiss repeated slowly. Ruby shivered in place. "I love you."

"I…"

"Say it."

"I… I…" Ruby took a deep breath. "I can't Weiss… I can't stay… I can't face everyone… I almost lived my fantasy of cleaning up… going to college… having a beautiful girlfriend… but it was only a fantasy." The redhead's final words were said in a much harsher tone. "Forget me, Weiss. It's the best thing for both of us."

Ruby didn't need to turn and look at Weiss to know the effect the words had. It was her intention. Break her heart… Weiss will be sad, and then pissed. But someday she will move on. And Ruby will be just a mistake. Just some junkie she used to know.

Weiss watched Ruby recede down the hallway, unable to well the strength to chase her down once more. The rich girl felt the tears coming, and tried to hold them back to no avail. She was lost in sorrow… Ruby Rose was the greatest part of her life at Beacon, and now she was walking away…

Ruby climbed into the van where Cinder was waiting for her. Cinder knew what Ruby was thinking right now, what the girl needed. "Em, Merc, use the secondary escape. Be careful. I'm going to take Ruby back."

"Can't she wait?" Emerald responded. She knew it was futile. She was just frustrated that Ruby got such special treatment from Cinder and she didn't.

"We're going." Cinder told them again and started the van.

* * *

"-The police have no clue as to the identity of the individual or individuals who stole the charity funds." The news report ended. Weiss looked away from the small TV behind the bar.

"Bastards. Who the hell would steal from a charity?" The bartender fumed as he switched the TV back to the local sports game.

"Who indeed?" Weiss asked to herself, bringing the glass to her lips. She didn't miss the earpiece in her… in Ruby's ear. Was it the girl from before, Cinder? Were they taking all that money to fuel their Dust habits?  _I may never know._ The rich girl grimaced as she brought more of the dark liquid to her face. "Huh? Oh… the glass is empty…"

"I think you've had enough." Yang told her, sliding into the seat next to her.

"Yang?" Weiss asked wearily. "What are you doing here…?"

"Well, you drunk-dialed me and told me about your meeting with Ruby." Yang informed her. "Apologized about fifty times. That was thirty minutes ago. Are you already forgetting?"

"I guess so…" Weiss set her head on the bar. "The only thing I can't forget is her… walking away… Junior! Another!"

"Make that two." Yang called out. Weiss looked to the woman in shock as the drinks were poured. She wasn't so far gone that she didn't remember Yang's golden coin. The blonde grabbed her glass. "Do you really believe we can never get Ruby back?"

"Yang, no… don't do it… you're doing well…" Weiss begged.

"So was Ruby." Yang deadpanned. She raised the glass and looked at the heiress. "Do you really believe we can't save her?"

Weiss dropped her head. "I don't know… All I know is she's gone." The rich girl went for her own glass. "Please, Yang… I don't want you to relapse too… someone has to stay sane…"

"If you think Ruby isn't able to be saved, then drink. Just know if you do, so will I." Yang told her.

Weiss stared at her glass with horror. "That's not fair, Yang…"

"Life's not fair." Yang shot back. "But I'm not ready to give up on Ruby. I'm not losing my sister again."

Weiss stared at her drink. Slowly, she poured it out on the table. With a sigh of relief, Yang followed suit. "I think we're ready for the check." The blonde told a horrified Junior.


	11. The Ray of Hope

Ruby came down later that night, her emotions all but vanishing in the process. Cinder frowned. The redhead had already dosed to the point where she was practically a zombie between highs. While this was useful for jobs, Cinder preferred Bright Eyes to Zombie Redhead. The vicious girl set to work loading a syringe for her favorite ward when Ruby spoke up.

"She won't give up…"

Cinder stopped and turned around. "Second guessing yourself now? Want to run back to her?"

"No…" Ruby's answer surprised the dark haired woman. "She deserved better than me… far better…"

 _That makes more sense._  Cinder nodded. "We'll be prepared."

"She won't move on if I'm always in arms reach…" Ruby continued to ramble.

"What are you trying to say?" Cinder just wanted Ruby to get to the point already.

Ruby took a deep breath. "The blackmail. Send it. You don't need it anymore. It will get Weiss far away. She won't have to worry about me anymore…"

Cinder couldn't help but smile. That idea was rather devious for the younger girl. The den-mother was proud.

That morning, halfway across the country, a white patriarch was getting ready for his day, when his e-mail alerted him to a message received. He gave it a curious look, intending to delete it. Nothing that came this early was ever anything other than spam, after all. He stopped his finger as the subject line caught his eye.  _Ruby Rose's Dark Secret? Well, well, well…_

* * *

Weiss rubbed her temples throughout all of her classes the next day. Yang had given her painkillers for her hangover, but they only did so much. Weiss wanted to sleep the day away… scratch that, Weiss wanted to find and save Ruby. She and Yang agreed it wasn't something that would happen in a day, and they still had to attend their college classes. And so, here Weiss suffered, headache and all.

The final bell finally rang and Weiss made her way outside. She and Yang were going to meet up and do the only thing they could do. Beat the streets and hope to find a lead soon. She stepped outside the lecture hall and, to her surprise, spotted a familiar face. "Autumn? What are you doing here? Are you looking for Ruby?"

Cinder stood before the rich girl, waiting for her. She got a chuckle from being called by the name Ruby gave her in the park, back when she was still trying to cover her sins. "Hello, Ms. Schnee. No, I'm not looking for Ruby. I'm looking for you, actually."

"Me? What for?" Weiss cocked her head to the side.

"To see the look in your face. I really couldn't help myself. I want to see you when you realize you've lost." Cinder told her coldly.

"Lost…?" Weiss was even more confused. After a few moments of piecing theories together, she was suddenly considerably less so. "You're Cinder… aren't you?" Cinder only widened her dark smile in response. "You're Ruby's blackmailer! You did this to her!"

"She did it to herself." The criminal teased. "And there's no greater proof than the message I'm sure you'll receive momentarily."

"What message?"

"The blackmail I had on Ruby? I sent it to your father this morning. Any moment now, he's going to whisk you far away from the influence of a Doser like Ruby Rose."

Weiss saw the seriousness in Cinder's eyes. "But… Now your blackmail is gone! Ruby's free."

"Oh, didn't I tell you how I won? My, it must have slipped my mind. I'm sorry…" Cinder took a few steps toward Weiss, closing in on the rich girl's personal space. "Ruby was the one who wanted me to send it. She wanted you gone. And she's going to stay, right where she is, by my side. I didn't even plant the idea in her head. She came to it  _all on her own_ …"

"You're lying." Weiss defended immediately, though her heart wasn't quite as sure as her words.

"I don't need to lie when the truth is so much better. Ruby is  _mine._ "

_Buzz_

"And it looks like you don't get a say."

Weiss slowly pulled out her phone to check the message. 'Please come to the penthouse as soon as possible. I have things I wish to discuss.'

The rich girl's eyes widened, the horrifying tale Cinder was spinning was quickly becoming a reality. "Why would she send it?"

"To get you away. She doesn't want you around anymore." Cinder teased, a dark smile on her face.

Weiss refused to believe it, but there wasn't much she could do as Cinder stalked away. If she didn't come to the penthouse soon, her father would send someone after her. Weiss slowly stepped away, head hung low in defeat.

* * *

Weiss rode the elevator to the penthouse, her anxiety building. Reaching the apartment, Weiss took a deep breath and prepared to face her father.

"Weiss, darling!" He proudly announced upon her entry. "It's good to see you!"

"Your message made it sound important. Why did you call me here?" Weiss wasn't in the mood to play ignorance for her father's sake.

"It's about your little girlfriend. How is she lately?" Father Schnee teased.

"Like you care. You never approved." Weiss shot back.

"And for good reason, it seems." He said, turning his laptop. On the screen was a video of Ruby dosing. As the camera got closer, the girl looked up and smiled. "Cin! What are you doing with that?"

"Just capturing the memory, Bright Eyes." A dark and familiar voice spoke from behind the camera. The video cut off there.

Weiss knew Ruby's history as well as anyone outside of the redhead herself and this woman, Cinder. She knew Ruby dosed. But watching her do it, even in a video… it almost made the rich girl sick.

"Now, how about that? Ruby Rose, love of your life… and a doser. I assume she hasn't said much about that?" Her father continued.

"I knew of it." Weiss stated.

"And what, you agree? Do you 'dose' now too, Weiss?" He spoke, though he seemed surprisingly unfazed by Weiss's revelation.

"Of course not. But I also know that Ruby's story isn't quite as black-and-white as you probably think. I've forgiven her past." Weiss stood her ground.

"And where is she now? Or do you think I wouldn't discover that too!?" He shouted in retaliation.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, afraid.

"I know she's back on it." He told her. "Once I knew what to look for, it didn't take me long…"

Another video was pulled up. Surveillance camera footage from the charity gala, of Weiss and Ruby talking in the hallway.

"Ruby, you stopped once before. You can stop again. We can get help."

"I can't… I'm not even sure I want to… I'm just a degenerate junkie, Weiss. You deserve far more than me."

The recording stopped, and Weiss was at a loss for words. Her father only smiled and stepped away. "Weiss, I would like you to meet someone." He motioned toward a large man in a suit. "This is your new bodyguard. He will ensure you stay safe while in Atlas."

Weiss looked up at the man. She understood that the term 'bodyguard' was only a cover in this situation. This man was Weiss's personal warden, making sure she didn't stray too far. There wasn't much the rich girl could do at this point to defy her father, he had everything worked out.  _It seems I don't have a choice… has Cinder really won?_

* * *

Another few days passed since Weiss was taken. All Yang had was a single text message from Weiss's old number saying  _he knows._  Yang hadn't seen hide nor hair of the rich girl since then, and when she tried to call she was answered by a message saying her number was out of service. The blonde didn't let it stop her, and she spent the last few days asking question after question, all by herself. However, even the seedier parts of town claim no sightings of her elusive sister.

Yang didn't know what to think. She had no leads, and her only ally was too busy with school. She wouldn't dare recruit Blake, because the dark haired girl would accept in an instant, and Yang didn't want to interrupt her friend's studies for her prestigious career choice. Soon enough, the day came where she was simply out of options… resigning herself to her room, she drowned in her sorrow. Not letting anybody in, her only human stimulus was the sound of her parents calling the police day after day looking for Ruby.

Refusing even food, the blonde simply stared at three items she had laid out in front of her. From left to right she had placed her sobriety chip, a picture of her and her sister, and an unopened bottle of vodka. It felt like she was losing her family all over again, even though Taiyang and Raven were in the next room. But Ruby was gone. Weiss was gone. And Summer was still gone…

For three days Yang sat and stared, contemplating.  _What am I waiting for? What am I trying to prove? What am I even doing here…_

Her dark reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door. "I said I'm fine…" Yang spoke with a cracked, unused voice.

"Oh, yes. That's why you locked yourself in your room, because you are just enjoying yourself." Weiss's voice came through the door.

Yang bolted to the door, ripping it open and staring in disbelief as her sister's beloved herself stood before her. "Weiss? What? How!?"

"I'll explain, but calm down. Is that alcohol I smell!?"

Yang turned as saw the vodka bottle broken and on its side. She must have knocked it over in her rush… "I swear, I wasn't drinking Weiss." Yang immediately defended. "Not yet, anyway…"

"Well, let's drop the 'not yet' and keep it that way." Weiss could smell Yang's breath. Filthy from days without brushing, but clean of alcohol at least.

"What are you doing here?" Yang asked again.

"Like I said, I'll explain, but not yet. Father knows where Ruby lived, I need somewhere else to lie low." Weiss spoke quickly.

Yang racked her brain and smiled. Ten minutes and an awkward conversation about not letting Blake in the know sooner later, Weiss was sitting comfortably in the dark haired girl's living room with Blake and Yang around her.

"So, what happened? How did you get here?" Yang eagerly asked.

"Well…"

* * *

_The night before…_

Mrs. Schnee maneuvered the halls of Schnee Manor with a dinner tray in her hands. She approached the room of her youngest daughter, who had locked herself in since the day she came home and refused to leave. The one time that Patriarch Schnee tried, the shouting could be heard from the gardens. Since then, the only interaction the rich girl had with anyone was the pleasant 'thank you's' toward the servants bringing her dinner.

But her mother was tired of the self-imposed isolation. So, on this night, she took the tray from the servants hands and made to talk with Weiss. The maiden Schnee soon approached the door to her daughter's room and knocked politely.

"Just set it down and walk away. I'll get it in a second." Weiss spoke through the door.

"So the servants have been lying about hearing your pleasantries?"

There was a crash from inside and the door was soon slowly opened. "Mother?"

"Hello, darling. I was presuming you were getting lonely." The maiden Schnee stepped into the room and saw the pile of books.  _The origin of the crash it would seem, judging by their being all over the place._  Weiss's mother placed the food tray down and turned to her daughter. "How are you holding up?"

"Just fine." Weiss replied quickly.

"No you're not." The older Schnee rebutted.

Weiss stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Weiss dear, all these books are on Dust, drugs and addictions." Mrs. Schnee pointed out.

Weiss's façade broke and she sat down quietly next to her mother on the bed. "I just wanted to understand… I know she would never have relapsed if it weren't for that… bitch." Weiss let the improper language slip, knowing no kindness toward Cinder.

Her mother's confusion was evident. "What exactly happened?"

Weiss spent the next half an hour explaining everything she knew. "… and so Cinder wants me to believe Ruby released the blackmail to get rid of me, but it just doesn't make sense." By the time she finished, her mother's face showed understanding.

"It does," Her mother stated, "if you consider that Ms. Rose still loves you. She wouldn't want you dragged down by such negative forces, even if it meant sending you away."

"You mean… Ruby did it  _for_ me? Like it was my best interests?" Weiss felt anger towards the love of her life once again. "That… stupid… DOLT!"

"You love her?" Weiss mother asked.

Weiss took a deep breath and nodded. "I do."

"Do you think there is a chance you could still get back the Ruby Rose you fell in love with?"

"If only I could get back to Vale."

"Well…" her mother put on a mischievous smile. "The Schnee name is popular for its powerful family leaders, who are primarily male. It leads to a shockingly common trait, one your father happens to share."

Weiss looked to her mother in confusion. "What trait?"

"They underestimate Schnee women." The maiden Schnee spoke proudly. "This Cinder girl has as well. She made a grave mistake revealing herself to you."

"Mother, what are you saying?"

"Do you want your chance at getting Ms. Rose back?"

"More than anything."

"Then, what I'm saying my dear, is that with my help, by the time your father realizes what we're doing, it will be far too late to stop us."

* * *

"My mother broke me out, and I came straight to you." Weiss finished, smiling at the amazed faces on Yang and Blake.

"So," Yang picked up after a moment of silence to compose herself, "Cinder is Ruby's blackmailer? Well, now we have a lead. I just hope it's not too difficult to track her down."

"The deck is in our favor now." Blake stated. "Weiss's father knows, and he can't send Weiss away twice without drawing suspicion. You're 21, what he did could be considered kidnapping. And this Cinder woman thinks she's won, so her guard will be down."

"Then let's get started." Weiss nodded.


	12. An Unexpected Ally

A knock came to the door of Cinder's safe house. Ruby was busy trying to beat Mercury at the fighting game, so Cinder answered the door for herself. She opened it to reveal the sight of Roman Torchwick, one of her contacts around town. He was really a street hustler who thought he was above his station, but his luck proved useful from time to time.

"Hello, Cinder dear." He greeted, tipping his bowler hat.

"What are you doing here, Roman?" Cinder replied coldly. "We don't need a resupply just yet. When we do,  _I_ will come to  _you_. Not the other way around."

"I'm aware of our deal. However, I could use the help of your cronies in a few days' time…" Roman lead.

"We set ourselves up for a decent little vacation." Cinder told him.

"I know, but I think this will be worth… postponing it. For the both of us, of course." Roman smiled.

Cinder frowned. "I'll think about it. Send me details later."

The vicious woman started to walk away, and Roman stopped her before she got too far. "One last thing, Cinder dear."

Cinder scowled in annoyance. "What?"

"There are a few people asking around after you… and your prize." Torchwick smirked.

"Ruby?" Cinder's tone changed quickly. "Who's looking for us?"

"I don't know… Say, how about that job?"

"Fine, I'll take the stupid job, now who is looking for us?"

"A blonde, a brunette, and an albino. I know that sounds like the setup to a bad joke, but it's true." Roman replied.

_Ruby's sister, maybe… and Weiss? This isn't good._  "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Torchwick assured her. "I may gamble, but I don't take bad bets. I don't need you against me. I'll send you the details on that job later." Roman tipped his bowler one more time and walked away.

Cinder closed the door and turned around. She stood there, thinking. Emerald walked out of the hallway and gave a Cinder a pointed look. "What was that about?"

Cinder wasn't foolish enough to think the dark skinned girl wasn't eavesdropping. She could tell from her expression that she was lucid. "Nothing at all. Don't tell Ruby anything. She doesn't need to know-"

"Know what?" Ruby asked as she skipped into view on her way to the bathroom.

Cinder was, for once, at a loss for words. How much did she hear? Emerald spoke up first. "We're taking a job, that's all."

"Ciiinnnn, I thought we were taking a break?" Bright Eyes pouted. Well, fake pouted, seeing as her dust altered mind couldn't possibly process true negative emotions.

"You still are." Cinder invented quickly. "It's just going to be me, Merc, and Em. I just didn't want you to worry."

Ruby blinked a few times. "Why am I not going with? I'm sure I can help."

"We'll be fine, I'm sure."

"Well… okay." Ruby shrugged and finished her trip to the restroom.

"Why can't she know?" Emerald asked after Ruby skipped off.

"It will be hard enough to keep the rich brat at bay long enough for something more… permanent. Maybe I should think about moving us to a new city…" Cinder responded "But if Ruby finds out, her lingering feelings could complicate things."

Cinder stalked off, likely to mentally prepare for whatever bullshit Torchwick had for them to do. Emerald watched her and held in a smile.

* * *

For three days now the college trio had been looking for any hint of Ruby or Cinder. Even when they found a source willing to speak about the dark woman, they didn't have much to say. It was almost as if Cinder as disappeared off the face of the earth for a few weeks now… On the bright side, they had found a cute diner where they started to regularly eat during their search.

"You would think this Cinder woman would leave more of a footprint…" Weiss complained as they entered the café on the fourth day of their search. "She seems feared enough…"

"Maybe she left town…" Blake finally voiced a fear they all had. "And took Ruby with her…"

"For what reason?" Yang defended. "She thought she won, right? She sent Weiss away. If she wanted to ditch town, she would have just done that instead."

Weiss frowned as the trio approached what was quickly becoming their 'usual' table. They were surprised to see someone already seated there… one person at a four-person booth. The woman had dark skin, green hair, and an interested look at the arriving group.

Yang stopped short. "Well… it's not like the booth has our name on it… I guess it won't always be empty for us." She spoke uneasily.

"You must be Weiss." The green haired figure spoke up, surprising the lot.

"Who's asking?" Blake responded cautiously.

"You guys should be more careful when searching for someone like Cinder. Word has gotten back to her, she's aware you've returned." The green haired girl continued at Weiss, completely ignoring Blake.

"Excuse me?" Yang interrupted.

"Are you here to warn us off?" Weiss asked.

"Actually no. you should stop using this café for now, by the way. Made it easy to find you." The girl stood up. "My name is Emerald, and I want to help you."

"Help us? Why?" Blake kept a healthy skepticism.

Emerald looked to the ground uneasily. "Don't get me wrong… I'm not doing it for you. I don't really care if Ruby gets better or not. There's one thing I've wanted for a long time, that Cinder never gave me… Something that-" She caught herself before she said what was on her mind next. "Let's just say I'm done chasing her. Now I just want to hurt her, to take Ruby from her."

"You work with Cinder." Weiss deduced. "You can tell us where Ruby is?"

"Better yet, I can tell you where Ruby will be while Cinder leaves her behind to work a job." Emerald smiled. "She'll be left all alone, for you to pick right up."

"You're sure?" Weiss asked, hopeful.

"Yes, I'm sure." Emerald handed the rich girl a piece of paper with an address on it. "Once I know more about the when, I'll tell you the where. I only came to you now so that you would stop coming here. You need to make it more difficult for Cinder to find you until then."

"What about after?" Blake asked. "I don't get the feeling Cinder will give up Ruby easily."

"I'll take care of that part, don't worry." Emerald started to walk away. "Come to that address at noon tomorrow. I should know more by then."

"How can we trust you?" Yang asked.

Emerald stopped and turned back. "Do or don't. You can always call the cops to meet me there instead. I'm placing my freedom in your hands here, but I have nothing to lose. How much longer can you go with no leads?"

With that, the group watched the dark skinned doser leave. They sat uneasily for their final meal in their now-favorite diner for some time.

"What should we do?" Blake asked.

"I say go to the meet. What else can we do? This is an amazing lead." Yang pointed out.

"Or a trap." Weiss rebutted.

"Somehow, I don't think so…" Blake looked Emerald's way as the girl vanished. "I think we should do it too."

Weiss thought for some time, sighed, and nodded. "Alright. Noon tomorrow."

* * *

"Emerald! Where have you been?" Cinder asked the moment Emerald returned.

"Out for a walk." The doser replied.

Cinder frowned. "Torchwick called on us. He wants to meet to give more details. After we do this job, I need to find a way to drop his ego a few pegs. I don't like him testing his power like this."

"Why did you ever agree in the first place?" Mercury asked her.

Cinder glanced toward Ruby uneasily. The redhead had managed to convince Cinder to let her tag along so she would at least know what the job was. "He… had something. A one-time ace. I will not allow him to have that kind of upper hand again." Ruby raised a curious eyebrow, but the group remained silent. They all piled into one of Cinder's 'borrowed' vehicles and left for the meeting point.

The entire way, Emerald remained calm. There was no way that Cinder could know of her secret rendezvous. After all, Cinder had asked Emerald herself to check into Weiss's return… All the green haired doser had to do was delay her report, and then she wouldn't even have to lie.  _Revealing herself to Weiss, accepting this job from Roman, missing my change in behavior… I never thought Cinder would begin making mistakes like this. Ruby seems to be very distracting._

"Are you doing okay, Ruby?" Cinder asked from the front seat.

"Yeah…" Ruby answered from the front passenger. Emerald noticed the redhead was beginning to rub and scratch at her arm.

"Do you want me to pull over? You can use a bathroom in a restaurant." Cinder asked. The green haired woman scoffed. The dark woman never offered her a similar kindness.

"No, I should stay lucid for this." Ruby replied.

"You still won't be joining the actual job." Cinder reminded her favorite ward.

"Still, I'd rather hear this properly." Ruby droned, her voice falling to monotone as she hit the low.

Cinder frowned. Zombie Redhead had returned, and for the remainder of their little venture it would seem.

The little interaction missed Mercury's attention entirely, but Emerald kept a keen eye. The kindness Cinder showed Ruby was extremely out of character for the vicious woman. It made the dark skinned girl scowl out the window as she was harshly reminded of why she was betraying her patron.

* * *

Torchwick watched the group arrive. He smirked when he saw that the college girl had accompanied his 'friend'. His smirk shrank when his eyes met Cinder's. The woman's glare clearly told him not to say anything.  _It seems I flexed a little too much with my power show over having information on Ruby. I will have to be careful in the future._

"Good evening, Roman. What's with the show? You could have just sent a message." Cinder asked him.

"Feels official, doesn't it?" Torchwick replied.

"Feels like you've watched too many movies." Mercury jibed.

"Quiet boy." Roman spat. He was quickly slapped by Cinder.

"Don't talk to my wards that way." Cinder warned. "Don't forget your place, Roman. Now what is this job you have for us?"

Roman raised a hand to stop his own associate from attacking Cinder in turn. "In a warehouse, in a few days-time, there's a large amount of dust passing through from another less-than-reputable source."

"We're stealing from thieves?" Ruby asked in monotone.

"And why not?" Roman smirked.

Cinder thought it over a moment and shrugged. "Alright, Roman. Where are we going to drop it off?"

Cinder and Roman worked out the rest of the arrangements, but Emerald stopped listening. She knew all she needed to know. She wasn't going to join Cinder on the warehouse raid, no matter what the vicious woman may think.

* * *

Three days later, Weiss, Blake and Yang stood outside the college, waiting.

"Are we one hundred percent sure about doing this?" Yang asked. "Seems a tad on the dangerous side…"

"Are we one hundred percent sure Emerald is telling the truth?" Weiss asked in return.

"We can't be." Blake fiddled with something in her pocket. "Which is why we're not going in without protection."

"Where did you even find that thing?" Yang asked.

"It's my dad's." The raven haired girl answered.

"Does he know you have it?" Weiss asked, eyeing the pocket uneasily.

"Maybe… maybe not…" Blake answered equally uneasily

"That's my girl." Yang smiled.

Soon enough the trio watched Emerald roll up in a pale green sedan. "Get in."

"Where'd you get the car?" Weiss asked.

"You want to get Ruby back?" Emerald responded.

"Well, yes…"

"Then don't ask questions like that."

Unease seemed to be the word of the day as the trio shared the feeling once more while clambering into a vehicle they were all but just told was stolen. The drive was quiet, none of the women feeling particularly chatty given the situation.

However, Weiss's energy could only just be contained. She was so close now, so close to Ruby, to getting her back. Getting help from one of Cinder's groupies made her feel a little dirty, but she hardly cared. Thankfully, the quiet ride was actually rather short. The building they stopped in front of didn't actually look as filthy as Weiss imagined. The group exited the car and approached the door slowly.

Emerald raised a hand to make the others wait and opened the door herself. "Hey, Ruby? I have a surprise for you." She waited for a response. "Ruby?"

"What if she's not here?" Yang whispered.

Emerald frowned and motioned for the others to come inside. Weiss looked around and frowned. This was the place where Ruby had been hiding for a long time now. It wasn't as filthy as she imagined a drug hideout, but it wasn't exactly clean either.

"She might be in Cinder's room…" Emerald told them while looking down the hallway, though her voice sounded unsure.

"Why would she be in Cinder's room?" Weiss asked. Emerald didn't answer. "Where is she?" Weiss interrogated, her trust dropping.

"She was going to stay behind. She was arguing over Cinder with it, but Cinder always shot her down. We wouldn't have needed a fourth person any-…" Emerald stopped short. "Oh shit… oh shit oh shit…"

"What?" Yang stepped close to the dark skinned girl.

"Oh crap… I'm so sorry." Emerald looked to Weiss. "Cinder kept talking her down because we didn't need more than three people… but I ditched to pick you up and get Ruby out of here… Did she…?"

"Emerald…?" Weiss stepped close as well.

"Cinder used Ruby… Crap, Cinder used Ruby… I wasn't around, so Ruby must have taken my place on the job."

"So Ruby is somewhere else." Weiss reasoned. "You can still take us to her, or we can do this again later."

"No we can't…" The green haired doser shook her head. "Fuck, I'm sorry Weiss…"

"For what?" Weiss's agitation rose. "What's going on?"

"I told you that you wouldn't have to worry about Cinder after today…" Emerald swallowed. "I left an anonymous tip. Weiss, I called the cops. There's enough to put Cinder and anybody with her away for a long time."

"Anybody, now including Ruby." Blake spoke out, causing an uncomfortable silence.

It was soon broken by Weiss. "Where?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"Weiss…" Emerald tried to speak out.

"Where?" Weiss asked again in a more steady voice.

"It's too late by now, we won't get there in time." Emerald pleaded.

"It won't stop us from wanting to try." Blake cut in.

"Take us there." Yang joined.

Emerald looked around at the group.  _What the hell did I get myself into? I'm going to need a huge dose when this is all over…_  "All right… Come on."

The four exited the building and returned to the vehicle, taking off for the warehouse.


	13. Aftermath

Cinder strode through the halls of the safehouse, getting angrier by the second. "Emerald, damn it, where are you!?" The green haired doser had vanished on the dark woman, just a few hours before the job Roman gave them.  _At this point I'm relying on having three people. Where the hell is she?_

"Maybe she'll be back soon." Mercury tried.

"Or maybe not." Cinder scowled. "We can't wait around for her, this has to get done now."

"Maybe… I could go with you." Ruby spoke up.

"Ruby, you don't have to." Cinder pleaded. It was more than a cover for her previous lie now. Cinder was starting to get a bad feeling about this whole affair.

"But you need three people, don't you?" Ruby reasoned. "With Em gone, I might as well go. What else am I gunna do with my time?"

Unfortunately, Cinder couldn't argue with that kind of practicality. It was either let Ruby in, or risk her questioning the dark woman's continued resistance. "Fine, you have a point. Come on then, I'll have to tell you your part in the car."

The three piled in and took off for the warehouse. The drive was a little long, but gave Cinder time to explain the plan.

"Look, this is probably going to be dangerous. More dangerous than other jobs I have let you on." Cinder warned. "Are you ready for that?"

"We're not  _killing_  people, right?" Ruby asked.

"Of course not!" Cinder shouted. Not that she minded killing people, but she played it off for Bright Eye's sake. "But injure, possibly. We may have to fight through this one. We're taking crate-loads of Dust by force."

"I'm ready." Ruby assured her. "Not like I have any other life to return to anyways…"

Cinder frowned. This negative insight was a sign that Bright Eyes was coming down.  _Oh well, at least she'll be lucid for the actual job._

At first things seemed fine. There wasn't even a whole lot of opposition. Cinder was about to dismiss the bad feeling in her gut when the lights appeared. The sirens that soon joined them were a cause for panic.

"This is Vale PD! We know you're in there, come out with your hands up!"

Cinder looked around quickly. "They may have us surrounded, but I don't see a chopper."

"A rooftop escape?" Mercury asked. The dark woman only nodded.

If only they could have gotten that far. The Vale police didn't wait long before storming the warehouse. Cinder pushed Ruby ahead and turned to fight the cops, only to get a Taser to the chest in the process. From the ground, Cinder watched her favorite ward raise her hands to the air rather that get shot full of high voltage herself.

That wasn't the biggest slap in the face, though. The biggest slap in the face came when Cinder stepped outside and saw a car pull up across the street. From where she was, she could barely make out Emerald in the front seat, accompanied by Weiss, Ruby's sister, and another woman she didn't know but could only assume was one of the redhead's former friends. As she was read her rights, the realization of what had happened made her hatred burn.

* * *

For the third time in a row, Ruby woke inside a cell. The local police house had more than enough bars to hold Cinder's little group. The once-bubbly redhead slowly sat up, but didn't see the point in doing anything else at the moment. All she wanted was to be happy. All she wanted was Dust. But of course, she couldn't really get that from inside a prison cell, so she sat, emotionless, apart from the occasional tear.

Yesterday saw her shed some when her family showed up. It wasn't until after they left, full of promises of fighting to get her out, that she even noticed her cheek was wet. Unbeknownst to the redhead, today would see more.

"Ruby…?"

A familiar voice called out cautiously, and the imprisoned girl raised her head slowly to see pure white. Weiss was as beautiful as ever, shining bright, almost from within…  _A bright soul, too good for me._

"Ruby, are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"I'm fine." The Ruby replied in monotone.

Weiss frowned. "I, uh… think your family is going to manage to get you out of here."

"They said so yesterday."

Weiss seemed at a loss of words to say. "I missed you." Were the words she eventually decided upon.

"I missed you too." Ruby replied truthfully.

Weiss approached the bars. "Ruby, why did you go back?"

"I told you."

"The blackmail?"

Ruby dropped her gaze. "I missed it Weiss. The Dust. I still do."

Weiss gripped the bars. "We can work past that."

"I didn't just lie to you, Weiss." Ruby confessed. "I stole stuff. A lot of it. Some from bad people, and some from… not."

"But there won't be that anymore? No more lying, right?" Weiss asked.

Ruby almost felt genuine amazement when she looked back up. "Weiss, why do you keep fighting? I'm obviously not worth it."

"You are to me." Weiss assured.

"So cute." Cinder's voice called out from a few cells down. "But can you really enjoy… spoiled goods?"

"You, hush!" Weiss scolded. "I don't need any of your tricks."

"No tricks, Weiss, just truth. A truth Ruby still seems unwilling to give."

Weiss  _humphed_  and tried to ignore the vicious woman, but Cinder wasn't done yet. She was pissed, and ready to take it out on the Ice Queen. "Really, Weiss, think. I told you Ruby was mine, by my  _side_."

"What are you talking about?" Weiss gave in.

"Ruby and me, of course! Back in the day, and now too. Or did she never get around to that bit?" Cinder flashed her signature dark smile.

"Ruby and you how?"

"Together.  _In-ti-mat-ly._ " Cinder drew out the last word for greater impact.

Weiss shook her head. "Maybe back then, but even drugged up, Ruby wouldn't betray me like  _that._ "

Weiss's eyes met Ruby's, and the younger girl dropped her gaze.

"Weiss, it's not like I thought we'd have a chance to be together again." Ruby explained.

"Ruby…?" Weiss froze stiff.

Ruby could see it. Weiss had come here looking for a reason to trust her again. What little she had left was hanging by a thread, and Ruby just cut it. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Weiss struggled with her thoughts. "It was the Dust right? It all comes back to Dust…"

"Dust and the happiness it causes may remove inhibitions." Cinder explained. "But it doesn't plant thought in your head, right Bright Eyes?"

Weiss looked back to Ruby and saw the truth in the redheads eyes before she spoke it. "The Dust may have helped…" Ruby started, the impending tear forming. "But I had to already be considering it for that to happen…"

Weiss was shocked. Without saying another word, she backed away slowly and hurried out of the police station.

"Well, that was a fun show." Cinder quipped as Ruby sat back down to daydream of Dust and Weiss.

Once outside, Weiss broke down. The lying, even the stealing, were things she had come to accept and were able to handle. This new revelation was something else, though. All Weiss could think about was Ruby and Cinder, intertwined. It made her sick. Even high, she never believed Ruby capable of something like that.

She stood herself back up and looked back on the police station. Wiping a tear from her eye, she turned around and walked back to her car. There was only so much she could overlook, and she didn't know how to look Ruby in the eye right now.  _I may never be able to again…_

* * *

"By my authority, granted to me by the great City of Vale, and by the testimony of Blake Belladonna and the evidence of blackmail, I hereby declare the defendant, Ruby Rose, not guilty."

The judge slammed his gavel and The Xiao Longs all breathed a sigh of relief. Blake shared this as well, though Ruby had yet to come out of her Dust induced zombie state. Even if the girl could feel right now, everything that happened with Weiss was a serious downer. But the redheads state of being didn't stop the Xiao Longs, along with Blake, from celebrating.

For the first time in months, Ruby stepped through the threshold of the house she grew up in. A giant 'Welcome Home' banner was set up and the day was spent with Ruby's favorite movies and Ruby's favorite foods. Everyone was hoping it would spark some emotion in the girl, but she seemed unfazed by the whole affair. It wasn't the first time they had seen Ruby like this, but it bothered them no less. In fact, it made everything they were told all too real.

"So, when are you going back to college?" Yang asked during dinner.

Ruby set her fork down. "I don't think I am. Not now anyway."

The table fell quiet once again. The silence was broken by Blake. "But… you worked so hard to get in this year."

"Blake, the school isn't even going to want me back. Even if I get better, I doubt Beacon will accept an ex-doser twice." Ruby replied in monotone.

The others at the table traded uneasy looks. "What about your stuff?" Raven asked.

"We can pick it up." Ruby told them. "I don't want to go back to Beacon, certainly not right now. Besides, with Weiss as a roommate…"

A tear started to form in Ruby's eyes. While proof of emotion, it still was cause for concern. Since her return, only thoughts of Weiss brought any real reaction, and it was always sadness. Yang changed the subject immediately, and began talking about the movie they had just watched.

That night, as Ruby settled into bed, there were only two things she really wanted. Weiss and Dust. She couldn't have one, but perhaps… Without much thought to not doing so, Ruby locked the door to her room and clambered out the window. She knew enough to get Dust on her own, especially with the money she pickpocketed from the judge earlier.

And for the next two weeks, Ruby would spend extended periods of time locked in her room, either because she was in truth not there, or she was high as a kite and didn't want her family finding out. It wasn't until the day she officially dropped out of Beacon that anything changed. Yang had promised to go with her sister to face Weiss, and knocked on Ruby's locked door.

"Rubes, time to go." Silence. "Ruby?"

Yang considered her options. Worry overrode her desire to keep the key she had a secret. After the last fiasco with Dust, the blonde ensured she had a key to her sister's room, one Ruby herself never knew of. When Yang opened the door to see Ruby fast asleep, she calmed down. That is, until she saw something on Ruby's bedside table. Yang crept over and examined Ruby with a frown. A fresh injection mark and a face a little too content for recent Ruby, even asleep. And the item in question, a spent syringe with clear signs of having held Dust.

_I guess she thought it was safe enough to leave out with the door locked, assuming her thinking even went that far._

Yang picked up the item and looked over her sister with worry. She wasn't going to recover this time. She didn't want to. Even her sister couldn't save her now… there was only one person who stood a chance. The last person who wanted to see Ruby right now. Yang resolved to pick up Ruby's belongings from the college alone. Perhaps, she could convince Weiss to give Ruby one last chance…

* * *

Three weeks passed since Weiss last spoke to Ruby in the county jail, and the rich girl spent most of that time at her desk in the dorm. She studied away, doing any and all of her work and beyond to keep herself distracted. She likely finished all of her work for the next month and a half by now, but still she worked. She may have attempted other things, but other things always left room for thoughts of Ruby, not to mention her former lover's bed was still decorated to a myriad of black and red.

"Hello Weiss, dear."

Weiss's self-distraction worked so well, she didn't even hear her mother enter the dorm, evident by the manner in which Weiss jumped in surprise to her sudden voice. "Mother!"

"Hello Weiss." Her mother repeated.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked.

"Checking in on my daughter." Mrs. Schnee sat down on the rich girl's bed. "How have you been?"

"Well enough." Weiss lied. Her mother didn't believe her for a second. "How about you?"

"Oh, I gave your father quite the tongue-lashing right in front of his board of directors the other day, about how he has been treating you lately. Needless to say, he won't come after you again."

"That's good." Weiss gave a small smile.

"And how is Ruby?"

Weiss's smile vanished and she turned back to her work. "Don't know, don't care."

Her mother didn't believe this for a second either.

Before the conversation could continue, a third woman entered the dorm room. The Schnees turned to face Yang Xiao Long. "Umm… hiya."

"Hello, young lady." Mrs. Schnee greeted formally. "Who are you?"

"She's Ruby's sister." Weiss cut in rudely.

"I see." Mrs. Schnee glossed over the interruption, but filed the event to the back of her mind. She could scold her daughter later. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too." Yang smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked the blonde.

"Just picking up Ruby's stuff." Yang explained. "We got her out. She's home now. But for obvious reasons… well, she's decide to drop out, at least for the rest of this year."

Weiss nodded and Yang went to work packing up Ruby's meager belongings. The silence was unbearably awkward, but neither side quite knew how to break it.

"Weiss, I need to ask you something." Yang finally broke it.

"What?"

"Do you still love her?" Yang asked.

"She is not the Ruby I fell in love with." Weiss answered.

"But if she still was, if she still could be…" Yang pressed on.

Weiss sighed. "Of course I would, if she were still that Ruby. A lot has changed though…"

"Weiss…" Yang struggled to find her words. "Sometimes, you can't wait for the other person to apologize… Sometimes you have to help them first. Or things may never be fixed."

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked.

"I don't think Ruby is going to come to you. I know she did wrong, but-"

"You're right.  _She_  did do wrong. What she admitted to hurt me more than all the lying and stealing." Weiss stubbornly explained.

Yang didn't know how to clarify her point further. With her head hung low, she grabbed the bag of Ruby's things and made way to the door. She stopped in the threshold, however, and with a large sigh set her sister's things down. She walked back over to Weiss's desk where the rich girl had resumed studying, and pulled the syringe out of her pocket. She strategically set it right on top of Weiss's worksheet where she couldn't ignore it.

Weiss set her pencil down and closed her eyes. "What is this?"

"It's Ruby's" Yang answered before turning to walk away.

Weiss almost let the blonde go, but gave in and stopped her at the door with a question. "When did you find this?"

Yang turned around. "Just a few hours ago. She doesn't know I have a spare key to her room, guess she thought it was safe to leave out with her door locked." The blonde turned back and picked up the bag. "Weiss, I think you're the only one who can save her. Please, if you love her, save her."

The silence Yang left as she walked away was even heavier than the silence they shared as she packed Ruby's things. Weiss tried to resume work, but couldn't keep her eyes off of the syringe. "Weiss, dear?"

"Yes, mother?"

Mrs. Schnee looked her daughter in the eye. "I want you to listen to me Weiss, without interrupting me, okay?"

"Yes, mother." Weiss returned the gaze.

"Ms. Rose is not going to come to you. If you want her back, you  _have_  to go to her."

"Who says I want her back?" Weiss huffed.

"Weiss," Mrs. Schnee shook her head, "you don't get this worked up over people you no longer care for. You're hurt, and that scar may never go away. I know you wish your Ruby would just walk through that door and you could forget everything, but that won't happen." Mrs. Schnee pointed to the syringe. "Especially not now."

Weiss looked to syringe and swallowed hard. "How can I? When I can't look her in the eye without seeing her with…  _her_."

"If you really want your Ruby back, you will have to swallow your pride and make it happen." Mrs. Schnee stood to leave herself. "Don't underestimate Schnee women, especially not yourself. Go to her."

Weiss watched her mother leave and took her words under serious consideration.  _Sigh…_  The rich girl came to a decision. With a plan in mind, she picked up the syringe and headed for the door.

* * *

The Xiao Longs were more than surprised to see Weiss knocking on their door. Yang was just as surprised, but also over joyed. She rushed to Weiss and drew her into a hug. One the rich girl refused. "Yang," Weiss explained as she pushed the blonde off, "I'm only here to see her. Nothing is set in stone quiet yet. The rest is up to her." Yang's face fell and she stepped to the side with a reluctant nod.

Weiss entered Ruby's room and, for the first time in three weeks, laid eyes on the redhead. She also spied a container of blue Dust. The rich girl picked it up and set her plan into action. Once it was all set up, all she had to do was wait for Ruby to wake up.

The redhead's dreams were soon interrupted by white light and she groggily opened her eyes. She briefly considered she was still dreaming when she saw Weiss patiently waiting for her. But her lack of feeling anything, accompanied with the lack of Weiss jumping all over her, told her this wasn't one of her dreams. "What are you doing here, Weiss?" Ruby asked in monotone.

Weiss leaned in. "I'm here to give you one last chance. To see if you're still worth it."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, sitting up.

"Ruby, I'm here to offer you a chance. I'm here to offer you a choice." Weiss picked up the syringe Yang had given her. Ruby quickly noted it was full of Dust and ready to dose. "I'm going to give this to you, and you are going to do one of two things. Dose or throw it away. If you dose, I'll walk out that door and never bother you again. If not… well, we'll see."

Ruby took the syringe. Behind her mask of taciturnity, Weiss was nervous beyond belief. She was taking a huge gamble, trying to force a moment of clarity that would change the young woman's self-destructive ways. Ruby stared into the syringe, her mind racing with possibility.

 _Dose or not? If I do I lose Weiss… But I can always just use more Dust like I have been. Can I give up Weiss for Dust? Can I give up Dust for Weiss?_  Somewhere deep inside, Ruby knew this decision shouldn't be so hard, but it was to her. To her addicted mind and body, her heart versus her Dust-altered psyche. Slowly but surely, the needle made its way to Ruby's arm.

Weiss intended to keep a straight face the whole time no matter what, but she couldn't stop herself. For just a moment, her mask broke, and the world saw just how sad she was. But the world wasn't alone, for Ruby Rose saw this too. The rich girl kept her surprise hidden, however, even though it was triggered by a change in Ruby's behavior.

 _Oh, god… what am I doing…?_  Ruby's left hand shook, unable to bring the needle either closer or farther from her usual injection zone. She couldn't believe herself. Clear panic grew in her face, until with great effort, she managed to let go of the syringe and drop it to the floor. Her knees quickly followed, and she ended up crying into Weiss's skirt.

"Oh, god… I'm so sorry…" The redhead choked out between sobs. "What am I doing… what have I done… I'm so sorry Weiss… oh, god, please… I need help…"

Weiss kept her mask of indifference. "You really want help? Prove it."

Ruby looked up at Weiss than down at the syringe. She was afraid to even touch it again, but she knew nothing else would work for Weiss. A shaky hand picked up the needle and carried it, ever so slowly, to the bathroom. She held it over the sink and, with more hesitation that it should have needed, spent the contents of the syringe into the drain. Ruby turned to Weiss and saw the rich girl holding her Dust crystal vial.

"This too."

Ruby nodded, and with less hesitation this time, dumped the electric blue crystals down the drain as well.

"Weiss, I'm so sorry…" Ruby repeated again.

Not comfortable with hugging just yet, Weiss opted to placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder instead. "I know you are."

"How can you ever forgive me?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know." Weiss said honestly. "But this is a start." She finished, equally honest.

"I… I love you." Ruby tried.

Pain shot through Weiss's heart. She couldn't return those words, not until she was sure Ruby was Ruby again. "I know." Was all she could reply with.

* * *

"Weiss, is this really necessary?"

"It'll be fine, Ruby. This place comes highly recommended. I'll come visit, and write. It's only for a few months…"

"Six is more than a few."

Weiss frowned. It had been two weeks since she visited the ex-doser, and progress was made, slow as it was. Ruby was still rather emotionless, and was starting to stress out over not having Dust. The Schnee daughter then contacted her mother, and pulled out all the stops to get Ruby committed to a top-of-the-line rehab center. Ruby was understandably resistant.

"It's what it'll take, Ruby. You need to get clean before we give more thought to… us." Weiss informed the redhead yet again.

Ruby dropped her head. This was always what got her. She wanted Dust, but now she knew she wanted Weiss more. She needed to eliminate her want of Dust of she wanted to get Weiss back.

"Don't worry too much. Like I said, this place comes highly recommended. You'll have a friend in there." Weiss smiled.

Ruby stepped through the gate and was immediately greeted by non-other than ex-Cinder groupie, Emerald Sustrai. "Hello, Ruby!"

"Emerald? What are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"Ditching Cinder helped wake me up to how dirty I was. So, I recalled where all of Cinder's stashes were and took them, used them to commit myself here." Emerald smiled. "I've already done quite a bit of recovery. I'll be here to help you."

"Thank you, Emerald." Weiss told the green-haired girl.

"It will be my pleasure. It's been a long time since I've done something for someone else."

Weiss walked with Ruby to the reception area, and they had to part ways there. At the door, Ruby looked back one last time. She decided to try it again. "I love you."

Weiss stalled. "I know, Ruby. Get better. This will be over before you know it."

Ruby knew this would be the response, but it didn't stop her. With one last goodbye, she entered her home for the next six months.


	14. Ten Years Later

The sterile halls of the rehab center stretched before the redhead committed there. She strode through the empty halls, looking for… what? Signs of Life? Weiss? Dust? The woman rounded a corner to find what must be the very last thing she would be looking for. Amber eyes burned right into her soul, and a vicious laugh filled the air.

With a start, Ruby awoke safely in her bed.  _A nightmare… even after ten years… why? Is it trying to tell me something?_  The redhead shook the dream from her mind and turned over to find rest again. By morning, the dream was forgotten.

* * *

Silver eyes slowly opened and Ruby Rose-Schnee was treated to an early morning image of her sleeping wife for her first sight of the day. Weiss looked so calm, at peace, when asleep. With how stressed the rich girl had been lately, Ruby didn't want to end her serenity. But today held the finality of the events that were stressing Weiss out, and Ruby knew the alabaster woman needed to wake up eventually. With a smile, the redhead decided that the best course of action was a soft wakeup.

By the time Weiss was fully conscious, she was already returning Ruby's morning kiss. The white girl may have smiled if her and Ruby weren't already tongue deep into each-other's mouths. Reminiscent of their early relationship, this innocent, chaste kiss was quickly turning into anything but. A tired Weiss barely managed to push Ruby up and off of her. "Not now, Dolt… today is too important for me to be late."

"I can be quick, Snow Angel." Ruby muttered as she kissed her partner's neck.

"Ruby…" Weiss half-groaned, half-sighed.

With a mischievous smile, Ruby opened her secret weapon. "I love you."

Weiss froze up. "Don't say that now…"

"Why not?"

"Because I won't be able to stop myself, because I know…"

Ruby smiled, her victory already apparent. "I love you." She whispered between kisses. "I love you…"

"I…"

"Say it."

"I love you too."

And with that, Weiss dropped any thought of resistance.

* * *

"One day I will find a way to stop you, mark my words!" Weiss shouted as she rushed to get ready.

"I'm sorry, Snow Angel…" Ruby mumbled.

"You will be if I end up being late!"

"You could have skipped the shower…" Ruby pointed out.

"I refuse to show up to this meeting both late  _and_  smelling like sex." Weiss deadpanned. Ruby's gaze dropped again and Weiss's tone softened. "It was nice… relieved some of my built up tension over today… Just, next time, the kiss will be enough."

Ruby brightened back up a little bit. "Of course. And sorry again. I love you!"

"I love you too! See you later!" Weiss rushed out the front door of the Atlestian penthouse where the pair lived to make her oh so important meeting.

Satisfied that she played her cards right, Ruby smiled and began wandering the home. She made herself a cup of coffee with their expensive gourmet home-brewing machine, watched some television of their expensive projection system, and even indulged with a small helping of expensive chocolate. Being married to one of the richest people in the world certainly had its perks.

Not that Ruby was spoiled… in fact, she wasn't allowed to touch a single Schnee dollar unless she was being a productive human being on her own. Ruby Rose-Schnee had her own job, paid her own car bills, and dealt with her own parking tickets. While all this was indeed supplemented by a Weiss-controlled allowance for the redhead, Ruby felt proud that she could prove she could hold herself up.  _Speaking of jobs…_  Ruby frowned as she remembered she had some work to do today.

Turning off her shows, Ruby made her way back to her personal office, just off of the main bedroom. Her computer was already on inside, running a program.

"Or rather, attempting to run one…" Ruby scolded herself. In the past few years, she had proven herself one of the top software designers in the field. This was actually a private contract, outsourced from Google itself, and Ruby would be damned if she would let this bit of coding be the first project to beat her.  _If only I could figure out what I'm missing… I'm sure I'm just one little detail away from all the code falling into place._

Ruby sat down and stared at the screen for hours, making small adjustments as she needed but mostly looking for her 'golden ticket'. A chance for a break came when her phone rang. She smiled and picked it up. "You have reached the Rose-Schnee residence. Unfortunately, the current attendant is out. Of her mind, that is."

"Oh, hush, Dolt." Weiss replied, but Ruby could hear the smile in her voice.

"How did it go?" Ruby asked, her nerves rising.

"Well, let's just say father is very furious with me." Weiss giggled.

"So it worked!?"

"Yup! Thanks to a very effective hostile takeover, you are now speaking to the CEO of the entire Schnee Mining Company!" Weiss announced.

"Go Weiss!" Ruby shouted.

"Yup, there will be a great many changes in the SMC starting today. Never underestimate Schnee women."

"Or Rose-Schnee women, for that matter." Ruby reminded her wife.

"I'll be home in a few minutes so we can get ready for the birthday party." Weiss informed her.

"Birthda- BIRTHDAY PARTY!? That's today! I totally forgot!" Ruby smacked her forehead.

"I'm sure Blake and Sun won't care, and their child is too young to worry about it. I remembered, and I anticipated you forgetting. Your outfit is taken care of." Weiss told her.

Ruby smiled. "How did I get so lucky as to bag a wife like you?"

"Luck had nothing to do with it. You earned it, remember?" Weiss reminded her.

Ruby looked down at her right arm and smiled wider. "You're right. I'll see you soon. Love ya!"

"Love you too, Ruby. See you soon."

The couple ended the call and Ruby returned to her work. Ruby got so absorbed in the code she missed hearing the front door open and close. Weiss snuck into Ruby's office unnoticed, and smiled as she watched the girl concentrate while leaning back in her chair. Weiss realized too late that Ruby kept leaning it farther and farther until…

"AHP!"

_THUD!_

"Oh, shit! Ruby, are you okay?"

Weiss rushed to her wife's side, which was currently above her head as she had landed butt up with her back on the floor. The toppled chair rolled off the side after she fell out of it.

"Ugh… I'll be fine once I stop seeing stars…" Ruby groaned.

Weiss gave a relieved sigh. "You clumsy Dolt."

"Snow angel…" Ruby replied, though probably out of sheer trained reaction.

Weiss helped Ruby back to her feet. "How's the Google project?"

"I'll figure it out." Ruby assured her. "I still have a week before the deadline, that will be plenty of time, even if I have to comb through every inch of code to solve my current dilemma."

"I don't know how you do it. I can read people like an open book, but those computer languages might as well be Swahili."

Ruby giggled a little. "I like doing it. It's like a puz-zle…" The redhead stopped short and stared at the monitor. Weiss recognized this behavior and backed off to let Ruby and her mind work. Suddenly, the redhead bolted to the keyboard and started typing like mad. "I saw it! What was it!? Where was it!? I fucking saw it!"

Weiss couldn't even keep up with how fast Ruby read and manipulated the on screen text if it were English. She knew the redhead's brain was going a mile a minute, analyzing everything. This was the 'breakthrough'.

"Wait… Yes... Yes. Crap, no… Wait a- YES!" With a few final keys, Ruby smashed on the enter key and the computer went fuzzy. After a moment, an interface for the program Ruby spent the last month trying to develop finally appeared on screen. "I got it! A week before deadline too! I can do bug checks over the next few days, and hand it in early!"

Weiss smiled. She very much enjoyed seeing Ruby get excited over these things. "Congratulations, Ruby. I'm going to take my shower real quick while you close shop here, okay?"

"Sounds good, Snow Angel." Ruby nodded and she saved and backed up her program, making doubly sure she wouldn't lose her progress.

Ruby finished up quickly and decided to grab a second cup of coffee. On her way through the kitchen, the doorbell sounded throughout the house. And uneasy feeling washed over Ruby and she went to answer it slowly. Peeking her head around the corner, Ruby was greeting by the last person she ever wanted to see again, and her nightmare came back to the forefront of her memory.

"Hello, Bright Eyes."

Cinder Fall stood in the doorway, looking a little thinner than Ruby remembered. She simply stared the dark woman down for a long time before finally speaking. "What are you doing here, Cinder?"

"I just got back out a few days ago. As far as Vale is concerned, I'm innocent and clean." Cinder smirked.

"But the luster on your eyes tell me the exact opposite." Ruby deadpanned. "Ten years without access is more than enough to break the addiction. I did it in just four months. How long did you wait before dosing?"

"Oh, come on, you know you miss the feeling…" Cinder said as she made an attempt to enter the threshold. Ruby pushed her back into the hallway.

"You are not welcome here." Ruby warned.

Cinder smirked. "I heard some interesting things since I got out, Ms. Rose-Schnee… I'm sure there are a great many things I could tell Weiss that you wouldn't like."

"I'm sure of it too, but Weiss already knows everything. Wasn't it you who taught me not to make the same mistakes twice?" Ruby scowled. "You may be free as far as the law is concerned, but as I said, you are  _not_  welcome."

"Then how about a few bucks for the road, at least? I'm sure you can spare it." Cinder smoothed her voice over, but Ruby could hear desperation behind it.

"Seriously? You're begging me for money?" Ruby scoffed. "If I ever see you again, Cinder Fall, it will be too soon. Leave, now."

Cinder almost seemed shocked at Ruby's resistance. It seems after ten years in prison, Cinder thought she could resume her old life right where it left off. Or at least hoped it, at any rate. "Okay, yes, I am… Look, Ruby, I need it. Bad. No one will give me a job. Getting arrested and being prison for ten years kind of ruins one's reputation. My name is poison thanks to that bitch. I need it."

Ruby shook her head.  _Was I ever this pathetic?_  "Leave, Cinder. Don't come back."

Cinder's features twisted into rage. "Fine, I see how it is. You two are probably still buddy-buddy, huh? I'll get you both, I swear it!" The vicious woman stomped off.

Ruby closed the door and hit the intercom button that allowed her to talk to the doorman. "Johns?"

"Yes, Ms. Rose-Schnee?" Johns's voice answered, metallically tinted by the speaker.

"A woman came up a few minutes ago, and is on her way back down now. Dark hair, ashen at the tips, tight red dress… She's not allowed in the building after today."

"Understood, Miss. I'll ensure eyes are kept out for her."

"Thank you, Johns."

With that done, Ruby next went to her phone. She finished dialing Emerald's number when Weiss got out of the shower. "Who was at the door, Love?" Weiss asked, only getting a 'hold on a moment' finger from her wife as she waited for the dial tone to end.

Finally, there was a click that meant the call was answered. "Hey, Em, I need to tell you something."

"Sorry, sis, it will have to wait." Yang's voice came over the line.

"Is it Ruby? Please give me back my phone!" Emeralds faded voice came from the background.

"Sorry, Emmy!" Yang spoke away from the receiver before returning to it to speak to Ruby again. "Emerald is being punished. She's lost her phone, as well as a few other, privileges."

"Yang, I really need to tell her something." Ruby deadpanned.

"I said I was sorry!" Emerald shouted again from the background.

"Sorry doesn't bring back my cheesecake, woman!"

"But it was so delicious, I couldn't help it… I was going to get you another one before you noticed." Emerald whined.

"Well, I noticed! So, yeah, we'll be at the party tonight for definites. Is that what you wanted?" Yang asked.

"No, I needed to tell her that Cinder is out. She came to the penthouse." Ruby warned. The immediate reaction was shocked silence from both Yang and Weiss.

"If she comes for Emmy, we'll be ready." Yang assured.

"Did you already warn the doormen?" Weiss asked.

Ruby nodded her wife's way and answered Yang with a "Thank you."

The call ended and Weiss walked up to Ruby. "What did she want?"

"Money, threats, and me. The usual." Ruby told her.

Weiss nodded. "Well, let's not worry about it now. We'll be ready for her. Get your shower, it's a decent flight into Vale."

Ruby nodded and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

The birthday party for little Ray Wukong was in full swing by the time the Rose-Schnee's arrived. Blake greeted the pair at the door. "Hey, you two! Thanks for coming."

"Of course!" Weiss nodded.

The pair began to snack and mingle with the other guests. Soon enough, Ruby found herself on the backyard bench. Emerald came up and sat next to her. "Hey, Rubes. You okay?"

"I haven't been scared of Cinder for a long time." Ruby answered. "How are you holding up?"

"The mailman came to the door about an hour after you called. I was so scared it was Cinder that I made Yang answer it." The green haired woman admitted.

"She won't find you as easily as she found me, not if she's trying to find Sustrai in the phonebook." Ruby assured her.

"Yeah… another perk of becoming miss Emerald Xiao Long, I suppose." Emerald smiled the blonde's way, who was currently trying to avoid a wild piñata bat that was way off target. "It's kind of funny… I used to hate you because you stole Cinder's attention. Now we're best friends and I'm married to your sister."

"Life is strange." Ruby agreed.

The pair sat in silence for some time before Gavin, one of Ray's friends from school, ran up to greet them. It was the first time he met Ruby, and his eyes were drawn immediately to the inside crook her right arm. "What is that?" He asked, pointing.

Ruby looked down and smiled as she always did when she laid eyes upon the tattoo. She had gotten it soon after she left rehab. The intricate white rose design was not a simple cover up for what lay beneath. In fact, it was a reminder as well as, "A promise." Ruby answered Gavin. He stared at it for some time before being distracted and running off.

Even after he left, Ruby continued to gaze upon the tattoo.  _A promise._  Ruby Rose-Schnee was quite proud of her promises. From the smallest promise to show up for a lunch to a few quite inane ones like finding a way to get Blake early access to her favorite book series before they were released, Ruby had fulfilled every single one. Yes, Ruby was quite proud of her promises.  _After all,_  she thought, continuing to stare at the tattoo,  _I haven't broken a single one in ten years._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of Addiction! I may be moving more of more of my works over soon, longer stories too. Let me know if you liked the 'chapter a day' thing or would rather I move bulk chapters or entire stories at once.
> 
> Support and feedback is always appreciated!


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